Unicorn Theatre for Children, London
Client: Unicorn Children's Centre
Our role:
This six floor building close to the River Thames, and is part of Foster & Partners’ masterplan which includes the Greater London Authority Building. The Unicorn Theatre provides a 350 seat main auditorium, a studio theatre, education, teaching and rehearsal spaces, and is the most far reaching child focussed educative and inclusive theatrical institution in the UK.
The main ambition of London’s Unicorn Children’s Theatre is, ‘to connect children with high-quality theatre.’ In order to achieve this goal the theatre must accommodate all children and any accompanying adults.
Our access consultants worked closely with the Unicorn Theatre’s design team to ensure that the building was accessible and compliant with all current legislation and best practice guidelines.
Central to our advice was inclusive design principles aided by the Disability Discrimination Act and best practice guidelines BS 8300:2001.
The design needs of children and parents with younger children were considered, for example, horizontal circulation routes are wide enough to accommodate double buggies and vertical routes have incorporated handrails placed at a comfortable height for school age children.
It was fundamental to consider pre-visit information, box office booking, physical approaches to the theatre, vertical and horizontal circulation as well as audience seating and auxiliary facilities such as the toilets and the café.
Evacuation strategies were considered for the Unicorn Theatre and were produced as part of the Building Control requirements. The evacuation of disabled children in an emergency has been given equal consideration in the design as that given to gaining access. Indeed the evacuation strategy provided acted as a working document for the theatre manager to draw up the evacuation procedure for disabled people.
By making the building ‘inclusive’ we ensured that all visitors to the theatre have a positive experience and are keen to plan a return visit with family and friends.
Contact Us
To find out more please contact us:
info@movementstrategies.com
+44 (0) 207 884 9156