The SSe hydro

NEWS 76
ENGLISH EDItion
UNITED KINGDOM, Glasgow
The SSE Hydro
ETFE Exterior, Roman
amphitheatre interior
c Foster + Partners
by Foster + Partners
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c Foster + Partners
UNITED KINGDOM, Glasgow
ETFE exterior and Roman-amphitheatre interior
by Foster + Partners
Glasgow has just opened the
SSE Hydro, a new multipurpose
entertainment arena that is expected
to give a boost to the banks of the
River Clyde. Designed by Foster + Partners,
the arena glows at night thanks to a
translucent façade that enables it to
blend into the region’s typical grey
skies by day.
The SSE Hydro is topped with a
latticed steel dome that weighs 1,400
tonnes—one of the largest domes in
Europe—and its sides are covered with
ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene)
cushions. A 260-tonne illumination ring
that hangs from the dome provides
spectacular lighting during events.
The state-of-the-art technology
employed in the structure contrasts
with the classical interior, which is
based on a Roman amphitheatre and
provides every spectator (up to nearly
13,000 of them!) with an optimal
viewing angle of the stage. Visibility
and comfort are further guaranteed
by a special seating system designed
by Foster + Partners together with
Figueras International Seating.
Standard seats
Club seats
Free-standing seats
Telescopic tribune
SSE Hydro arena seating plan
The Arena seat, a custom seat
The multipurpose SSE Hydro is outfitted
with the 302 Arena seat—a model whose
ground-breaking design provides excellent
comfort, is appropriate for all types of
performances, occupies little space and
allows for diverse seating configurations.
The 302 Arena seat is compact: when
folded, it only takes up 21 cm, as it fits
perfectly against the backrest, protecting it
from dirt. Despite its small size, spectators
will enjoy this comfortable, upholstered
model.
Thanks to different attachment options,
the Arena seat can be adapted to every
area in the venue; it perfectly adapts to the
surrounding space, even in curved areas. All
of the seats are mounted onto a support
beam and the distance between them can
be modified as needed to suit each event.
In the stands the seats are mounted directly
to the precast risers; in the VIP section, they
are attached directly to the floor; and in the
ground floor performance area or “bowl”,
they are free standing but are controlled
with an innovative alignment system that
prevents row misalignment (sneaking).
In addition, the performance “bowl” at the
SSE Hydro features a 1,200-seat telescopic
tribune system that enables a considerable
increase in capacity.
www.figueras.com
SEATING
TOGETHER
3
with: Chris Connell and Ben Scott (Foster + Partners)
Does the SSE Hydro keep the Roman
amphitheatre structure because it
works in terms of visibility and sound?
Foster + Partners: Yes, although in
our case the central ‘bowl’ is offset
from the amphitheatre in plan as the
majority of events place the stage to
one end. Everyone gets a good view,
with the seats furthest away being
directly in front of the stage and those
to either side being the closest.
Arenas are converting into multiusage spaces, where shows of different
nature take place. How does this
aspect change the way arenas are
designed and constructed?
F+P: Flexibility is very important
for any space like this to succeed
commercially – but without inventive
and sometimes challenging solutions
this can just lead to a big box. That may
be a safe solution but it doesn’t bring
the character and sense of event that an
increasingly sophisticated market-place
demands.
Do seats play an important role in
these new arenas?
F+P: If you think about it, the Arena is
all about people numbers – how to get
them in and out, how to accommodate
them when they are there and
particularly, how to seat 12,500 of
them in comfort for 2 hours or more.
So the seat is critical – and as well as
its functional importance, the sheer
numbers make it a significant visual
element.
Which were the main features seats
had to perform?
F+P: Comfort, resilience and easy
maintenance – having something that
stays looking good with crowds moving
through daily. Obviously they needed to
look good too.
Was it difficult to find the right design
for the chair? How was the design
process?
F+P: We sketched out a series of
approaches that suited a number of
manufacturers, concentrating on a
clean design that would look good as
an individual chair and cohesive as
long rows. Then we gradually refined
it, working with Figueras to suit their
manufacturing techniques. The mockups/prototypes and the involvement
of the client were an important part
of the process. For SECC, the design
of the seat was a hugely important
aspect of the project with senior SECC
representatives visiting the Figueras
factory with us to test the mock-up’s for
comfort and robustness.
“The seat is
critical – and
as well as its
functional
importance, the
sheer numbers
make it a
significant visual
element”
c Foster + Partners
Which improvements did you
introduce in such a structure in order
to have a s.XXI building?
F+P: The shape of the building is an
important factor, not only in its identity
but in the efficiency of its function.
Shaping the skin around an efficient
auditorium bowl keeps the volume of
the building down, so there aren’t the
big empty corners to service often
found in existing Arenas, which are
often adapted exhibition halls with
shaped seating inside. The 120 metre
diameter roof dome and translucent
ETFE cladding cushions are efficient
and cost effective ways to enclose such
a large area. The planted bank covering
the lower lobby keeps people away
from the ETFE but also introduces
greenery to a site that’s predominantly
hardscape.
Color and light are very important in
this arena… Were you aware of that
since the very first moment? Why it
had to be a colorful building?
F+P: Natural daylight is very important
in our work – if possible we would have
brought it into the interior of the bowl,
but in the event it is a theatrical staging
space and had to be dark. Happily, the
wrap of the building has enabled us to
bring diffuse daylight throughout the
lobby spaces. The fact that this wrap
also becomes the means by which
artificial and coloured light are spread
inside and outside the building as
daylight fades is a neat solution. Beyond
that we’ve used coloured walls and
signage to identify particular areas and
aid orientation - but we’ve tried to keep
it simple, as 13,000 people bring their
own colour to any building.
Technical specifications
Name:
SSE Hydro
Location:
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Architect:
Foster + Partners
Owner:
Scottish Exhibition and
Conference Centre (SECC)
Structural engineer:
Arup
Height:
33 m.
Total surface area:
25,000 m2.
Capacity:
12,665
Product:
Arena 302
AZERBAIJAN, Gabala
a 1,200-seat Mutasub automatic seating
system that retracts in 5 minutes
Technical specifications
Name:
Heydar Aliyev Congress Centre
Location:
Gabala, Azerbaijan
Architect:
Metex Design Group, Istanbul
Builder:
TGG Construction
Owner:
Government
Total surface area:
8.5 ha
Seating capacity:
1,200
Product:
Mutasub System, 6032 Flex and
5064 Minispace
Figueras International Seating recently
installed a Mutasub automatic seating
system in the newly opened Heydar
Aliyev Congress Centre, in the historic
town of Gabala, Azerbaijan. The system
allows for maximal use of the Centre’s
space, which encompasses a surface
area of 8.5 hectares, including a 930 m2
conference room. The Mutasub system
itself takes up 700 m2.
The Mutasub system at the Centre is
the most ambitious one ever installed
by Figueras: it comprises 1,200 seats
that automatically retract down into
the conference room floor in only 5
minutes, thanks to computer control
and to a mechanism patented by the
Company. Furthermore, the system can
be configured to provide as many rows
of seats as necessary.
The system employs two innovative, highquality seat models from Figueras’s top range:
the 6032 Flex and the 5064 Minispace.
Both are outfitted with
luxurious aesthetic finishes, including
white leather upholstery. The seats
are arranged in rows of 24, which was
another challenge for the Company,
which had never before worked with
such a long row length. Once stored
underground, the seats occupy only 450 mm
of space. Figueras also installed the
moving stage in the conference room,
the height of which can be adjusted
according to the desired configuration for
the room to enable optimal visibility from
any seat.
To watch a video of the automatic seating
system, scan this QR code:
www.figueras.com
5
USA, San Diego
A library by and for
the community
The recently opened San Diego Central
Library was long awaited by residents
of the Californian city. The project began
after several meetings in which they
explained to the architects their needs
and expectations for the new library.
The final structure is the fruit of more
than 10 years of design, and reflects a
passion for art, environmental awareness
and civic participation. The façade
boasts a huge dome that protects the
building from the Sun and wind and
that always appears unfinished and
perpetually changing. It has become the
icon of the City’s skyline.
opened to increase the capacity or
for different activities. The seat model
chosen, Delta, allows for a high degree
of flexibility in the room. Its tip-up
system provides ample space between
rows. Thanks to an incorporated lectern,
the seats convert into comfortable
workstations.
c Steve Simpson
According to the architect, Rob
Quigley, “A building like this should
work emotionally. If it doesn’t work
emotionally or poetically, the building
will be a disaster, no matter how many
books it contains.”
The interior is built around open and
adaptable areas, outdoor spaces,
terraces with views and comfortable
study rooms. The San Diego Central
Library includes a 330-seat auditorium
located at the base of a garden. On
sunny days, the façade between the
garden and the auditorium can be
Name:
San Diego Central Library
Location:
San Diego, USA
Architect:
Rob Quigley
Managing architect:
Art Castro
Design:
Rob Wellington Quigley,
FAIA and
Tucker Sadler & Associates
Number of floors:
9
Owner:
City of San Diego
Surface area:
40,870 m2.
Seating capacity:
330 seats
Product:
433 Delta and LP writting table
c Steve Simpson
Technical
specifications
SPAIN, Madrid
Law firm Cuatrecasas Gonçalves
Pereira opens new offices in Madrid
Technical
specifications
Name:
Law firm Cuatrecasas - Gonçalves Pereira
Location:
Madrid, Spain
Architects:
Ruiz Barbarin Arquitectos and
GCA Arquitectos
Interior design:
GCA Arquitectos
Builder:
Dragados, SA
Number of floors:
8
Surface area:
23.967 m2.
Seating capacity (auditorium):
200
Products:
6036 Flex + F45 and F1000
UNITED KINGDOM,
Llanelli
High
technology
for a unique
multipurpose
theatre
The law firm Cuatrecasas Gonçalves
Pereira has opened new offices in
Madrid, in a building dating from
the 1980’s that has been extensively
renovated by the architectural firms
GCA Arquitectos Asociados and Ruiz
Barbarin Arquitectos. The project
received the 2013 COAM Prize.
Thanks to the exhaustive work, the
building is now a model of structural
design, use and sustainability. The
architects used high-quality materials
throughout the building and sought to
create an elegant, understated image.
Natural light is one of the
protagonists in the Firm’s new
headquarters. It enters through the
façade, built with a ribbed-aluminium
covering to protect the building
from the Sun’s rays, and through the
recovered inner core space, which has
been transformed into the nucleus
and main hub of the building. Light,
used as a metaphor for transparency,
enters all of the offices, which have
been outfitted with clear glass
partitions.
The ground floor houses a 200-seat
auditorium that follows the same
principles. The elegant 6036 Flex seat,
upholstered in white leather, boasts
pure minimalist lines that are not only
beautiful, but also functional, when
used with the accompanying
F45 table. The first-row seats include
the wider F1000 model, which provides
the finishing touch of visual balance.
Technical
specifications
Name:
Y Ffwrnes
Location:
Llanelli, United Kingdom
Architects:
Cardiff Architects Lawray
Theatre consultants:
ACT Consulting
Contractor:
T. Richard Jones (Betws) Limited
Owner:
Carmarthenshire County Council
Capacity:
Main theatre: 100 to 650
Studio theatre: 104
Products:
5064 MiniSpace
128 Carmen
5067 MiniSpace
www.figueras.com
Y Ffwrnes is a new Welsh cultural centre that
is ideal for staging all types of performances, thanks to its
two multifunctional theatres. It is an architectural project of
Cardiff Architects Lawray, in collaboration with the theatre
consultancy firm ACT Consulting. This structure is unique
for its architecture—which required renovation of historically
listed buildings and their subsequent integration with newly
constructed ones—and for the design of its two highly
versatile, adaptable theatres, which are a major cultural asset
to the local community.
7
The larger of the two theatres (Main Theatre) has capacity
for between 100 and 650 people. It can be used for standing
crowd events or for cabaret, auditions and lectures. The Main
Theatre features a telescopic tribune comprising 300 seats of
different colours that reflect the industrial furnaces of the local
region. However, for its amphitheatre portion a wider seat was
used: the Carmen model. The smaller theatre (Stiwdio Stepni),
intended for more intimate performances, also has flexible
seating configurations.
Possible configurations in the Main Theatre at Y Ffwrnes
SEATING
TOGETHER
with: Chris Baldwin, Theatre Consultant at ACT Consulting Services
¿Which was the biggest challenge of
the project?
Chris Baldwin: The initial challenge for
the architects was the site development:
a combination of new-build, restoration
and re-development of existing
buildings including two listed chapels.
“The adaptability
of theatre spaces
has become a
fundamental
requirement.”
Chris Baldwin
How many possible configurations can
you set up in the Main Theatre?
C.B.: The Main Theatre audience seating
is in three parts: the fixed seated
balcony, the retractable tiered seated
stalls and the three-row tiered seating
wagon to the stalls front. The following
formats can be easily and quickly set up:
Onstage concerts and drama, with
a virtual stage front created by the
lowered forestage;
Musical theatre, with an orchestra pit for
up to 30 musicians; and
Flat floor stage/stalls, for meetings,
workshops and exhibitions
conference stalls, with the forestage
raised 360 mm above the stalls floor.
The three row tiered seating wagon
is moved using air film technology
so it can be rotated to face the main
audience. Then, with the retractable
seating only partially deployed, an arena
stalls configuration can be set up.
How many different configurations can
be created in the Studio Theatre?
C.B.: Stiwdio Stepni is a flat-floor
converted chapel with an eight-part
tiered seating system moved on air-film
technology. The interior can be arranged
in multiple configurations for dance,
rehearsals, drama, comedy club, film,
lectures and workshops.
Would you recommend all theatres
convert into multi-usage theatres?
C.B: We live in a time of changing
attitudes to presentation styles.
On the one hand there remains a need
for classical forms of presentation and
this is a continuing requirement in
major cities where there is a buoyant
arts economy. However, small-scale
community arts centres have a strong
emphasis on participation with a wide
range of different art forms and other
uses. In this scenario adaptability
becomes a fundamental requirement.
To read the full interview, scan this
QR code.
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