The Leith Theatre Trust has appointed Holmes Miller as lead architect on the project to revitalise the theatre behind Leith Library on Ferry Road.
This phase of the development is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund and the firm has been chosen following a rigorous tendering process.
The space will become a leading mid-size performance venue and a hub where culture meets, particularly live music.
Lynn Morrison, Chief Executive of Leith Theatre Trust, said: “Holmes Miller joining us as our Architect Design Team feels like the start of a new chapter in a story that has taken decades to reach this point.
“Leith Theatre means so much to so many people, and carrying the responsibility for its future is something we feel deeply. I am pleased to welcome Steven and the wider Holmes Miller team as we begin the detailed work required to bring Leith Theatre back into permanent use.
“Their expertise will help us find practical, sensitive solutions for a building that presents both enormous character and real challenges. This marks the start of a steady, thoughtful revival that will allow this treasured venue to take its place once again in Leith’s community and Edinburgh’s wider cultural landscape.”
Bob Last, Leith Theatre Trust Board Chair, said: “I am excited that Holmes Miller are bringing their architectural imagination and experience to Leith Theatre, helping the Trust articulate a future for the building and its audiences and community that is forward looking but infused with the deeply personal meanings the building has acquired over generations of use.”
The vision is clear: “Back to Life: The Theatre that isn’t just a Theatre.”
Architect Steven Coulson said: “Firstly, it is a genuine pleasure to be able to work with a client team who so obviously love and respect the Leith Theatre building. The Leith Theatre Trust hold a core value to maintain the heritage integrity and beauty of the existing 1932 building. This respect for history is balanced against a highly aspirational and inspiring client brief, which aims not just to refurbish the Theatre, but to reinvent it.
As architects, we relish the opportunity to breathe new life into a meaningful
cultural and community landmark. I personally am excited about making a
building fit for everyone. This will include breaking down barriers to attendance –
physical, accessibility, psychological or status, so that we can reunite this
remarkable building, originally gifted to the people of Leith, back to the whole
community.”
The architects have at their core the twofold aims of sensitive conservation and sustainable design. They will study the building to understand how any new interventions can be appropriate.Any areas of lesser value will be “explored as potential avenues for positive change”. Holmes Miller also believes that sustainable building design is good sense – building to a high quality with resulting maximum environmental, social and economic benefit. They will now analyse the building and see how they can improve energy use.
The team now comprises:
- Holmes Miller Architects
- Narro Associates – Structural & Civil Engineers
- Hawthorne Boyle – Services Engineers
- Doig & Smith – Quantity Surveyors
- with additional support from New Acoustics and Charcoal Blue.
Leith Theatre is part of a wider complex gifted to the people of Leith by the City
of Edinburgh after the amalgamation of the two in 1920. Opened in 1932, the
complex also includes Leith Library, the Thomas Morton Hall and a small
Gatehouse. The complex, designed by Bolton’s oldest architectural practice
Bradshaw Gass & Hope, reflects the civic pride and ambition of the inter-war
period.
This building has hosted both joyous celebration and darkest moments.
It was hit by a bomb in 1941, and it took 20 years to be repaired, only to be closed again in the 80s to save costs. The Trust took over in 2016 following lengthy community campaigning to save the building from private development and are now working to secure capital investment to ensure that this glorious semi-derelict building and important cultural asset is available and protected for future generations.
