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TPC on a Music Mission at The Sage Gateshead

The Sage Gateshead includes two music spaces, nominally called Hall One and Hall Two, and Northern Rock Foundation Hall for rehearsal and performance, and is home to Northern Sinfonia. Given that these facilities don’t include a theatre, one might then ask why a company such as Theatre Projects Consultants (TPC) has been involved with The Sage Gateshead for the past seven years. Alan Russell, who was responsible for the technical theatre design and is a Director of TPC, explains: “It is not enough today to provide superb acoustics and great architectural ambience for classical music. The Sage Gateshead is first and foremost there for the people but it must also pay its way. To enable it to satisfy both criteria, it must offer a wide range of musical performances, concerts with amplified music, conferences, semi-staged events and even dance.

“Such events require a wide array of technical equipment - computer controlled lighting trusses, variable sized platform, mobile orchestra and chorus riser platforms and loudspeaker cluster hoists. All these are areas where Theatre Projects Consultants brings its expertise to bear.

“A multi-use concert hall must also have variable acoustics. The acoustic requirements for choral works, 18th century chamber music, a 19th century romantic symphony and a solo pianist are different, and Arup Acoustics determined the need for variable acoustics for each music space in the building. Hall One has a moving ceiling in six parts, to adjust the acoustics for the performers and the listeners. Retractable sound absorbing curtains are also required for certain repertoire and specifically for amplified music. Theatre Projects Consultants was responsible for specifying the engineering behind these variable systems.”

Working with Foster and Partners for the first time, the Theatre Projects team was led by Alan Russell, whose main responsibility was technical design, and Iain Mackintosh, who was responsible for theatre planning and auditorium design, along with Mark Stroomer, the company’s design director, who was responsible for TPC’s work on the concepts for Hall One.

Of all their work at The Sage Gateshead, it is the more intimate Hall Two of which they are most proud. The unique galleried space is five sided at stage level, breaking into ten sides above. Iain Mackintosh of Theatre Projects Consultants said: “I felt that The Sage Gateshead needed a completely new approach and five is an organic number, connected with organic growth. It appears constantly in nature, and in folklore the pentagram is imbued with mysticism. It just seemed so appropriate.” He believes that Hall Two is the only music or theatre space in the world which uses this fascinating geometry.

Behind the uniqueness of the hall itself lies an original and unique brief. Iain explains: “As well as providing a setting for classical quartets, which are part of the repertoire of Northern Sinfonia, Hall Two is also the home of Folkworks. Rooted in the Northumbrian pipes, fiddles and accordian music of the region, Folkworks also extends into jazz in all its many forms. But as the project developed, and the management of Folkworks, Northern Sinfonia and The Sage Gateshead itself were merged, the uses envisaged for Hall Two extended beyond these primary purposes into classical chamber music, pop and almost every community musical activity.”

The hall has a pure symmetrical form with directionality, in that three of the ten sides provide the backing of the musicians when they play at one end, but the room is also perfect for performances in the round. Working with the architect and acoustician, Theatre Projects helped to develop the detail of the room, in particular the ability to clear the space of seats and platform. The minimal technical installation can be expanded, since this space will encourage artists to experiment with music and music theatre.

The colour scheme of Hall Two also sets it apart, the opulence of the deep red decor making this 450 seat auditorium an intimate space, in absolute contrast to the simple purity and classic lines of Hall One.

There have been a few other halls with a movable ceiling, but Hall One at The Sage Gateshead is the first to utilise the upper volume as a controllable coupled volume. The ceiling comprises six panels, each weighing 14 tonnes, and Theatre Projects Consultants, in particular Alan Russell, was responsible for the design and specification of the counterweight system and control system that moves them.

Alan Russell takes up the story: “Our input started with the process of accommodating the required number of seats, all of which could see the platform, in a way which we knew was sympathetic to the acoustic requirements, and then help to develop this to satisfy the acoustician and the architect. Mark worked on each of the concepts to ensure that the sightlines worked and that they had the necessary theatrical qualities.

“The volume and basic shape of the room is driven by the acoustics - the stalls need to be shallow so as not to absorb sound passing across and balcony overhangs are restricted so as to preserve excellent listening conditions below them. To improve sightlines from the stalls, we created a subtle dishing of the floor - a complex curvature across the room which improves the sightlines towards the end of the rows and, importantly, gives a perceptible 3D enclosure effect for the audience.

Theatre Projects also developed the details for the stage and chorus risers in close collaboration with Arup Acoustics. Alan Russell said: “We had to be more than usually ingenious - the backstage area of Hall One particularly is tight but workable. The orchestra and chorus risers fit neatly backstage by millimetres; the chorus risers lift off the orchestra risers with chain hoists and hang up in the backstage area, allowing the orchestra risers to be moved independently below them. We also adopted manual solutions where we might otherwise have motorised operations.”

Another innovative piece of equipment that Theatre Projects used in Hall One was the Chaintrack system supplied by Triple E, which facilitated compact storage of the huge acoustic curtains that, when in use, cover almost 90% of the auditorium walls. “Chaintrack was just one of the novel solutions to the challenge of finding sufficient storage for all the flexibility in Hall One. The attic provides a home for the permanent and temporary mechanised suspensions, so it’s possible to hang up lights, curtains, screens and banners, etc, yet all the kit can be hidden away during concerts,” said Alan.

As well as the design of the auditoria, Theatre Projects Consultants’ brief extended to the overall planning of the building, including the areas which are never seen by the public but which are crucial to the management of a building such as this - access for loading in of musical instruments and scenery, catering, and so on; parking for outside broadcast vans and equipment; waste disposal; making sure all the facilities are in the right place in relation to each other; the flow of public through the building and whether there are enough ladies toilets - a crucial question for at least 50% of the public and apparently an obsession with Theatre Projects worldwide!

The building engenders a good feeling, which reflects the obvious harmony between all the main parties involved in the construction of it. Alan and Iain say that Gateshead Council was the best local authority they had ever worked with, and both of them obviously enjoyed their working relationship with Foster and Partners and Arup. This feeling is shared by many of the people who work there, such as Ros Rigby, performance programme director at The Sage Gateshead, who has been with the project from the very beginning, who said of Hall Two: “After three weeks of acoustic tests, we felt as if we had been using it for three years!"

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TPC on a Music Mission at The Sage Gateshead

2nd March 2005

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