OISTAT Theatre Architecture Competition 2015, Design Contest

OISTAT Theatre Architecture Competition

TAC 2015: Architectural Contest by International Organisation of Scenographers, Technicians and Theatre Architects

29 Oct 2014

Introduction

The OISTAT Theatre Architecture Competition is an international ideas competition, aimed at students and emerging practitioners, which is organised every four years by the Architecture Commission of OISTAT (International Organisation of Scenographers, Technicians and Theatre Architects). The next competition will be generously supported by and exhibited at the Stage, Set, Scenery conference and exhibition organised by the DTHG (German OISTAT Centre) in Berlin from 9-11 June 2015. Selected entries will be exhibited and cash prizes awarded.

Theatre Architecture Competition 2015 – TAC

Competition Theme for TAC 2015

The theme for the competition will be the design of a floating theatre to be moored at a particular location on the river Spree in Berlin, Germany, but capable of being moved to other sites on the river.

The floating theatre will provide a performance space for an audience of 200-300 people and backstage accommodation for a cast of no more than 20 performers. Facilities for the audience, such as foyer space, toilets and refreshment areas will be located on the land and will be temporary and easily moved to another location, when required.

There is increasing interest amongst theatre practitioners in the use of temporary site specific locations to present particular productions. These settings can often provide a unique atmosphere, which resonates with a particular production or style of presentation, in a way which may not be possible in a conventional theatre.

These are the themes to be explored in this competition.

The Brief / Overview

Competitors are asked to design a theatre for a particular performance, which will be defined by the competitor. This may be a conventional performance or something more experimental.

We wish to encourage a deeper understanding of the relationship between the performance itself and the space which it inhabits. Collaborations between architects and other theatre practitioners such as directors, designers, technicians, actors, dancers, musicians, or students in those fields, will be welcomed.

Key Dates for the Competition

13 October 2014: Issue of the Design Brief and Competition Conditions
17 November 2014: Closing date for questions

27 March 2015: Final date for despatch of entries and payment
11-14 April 2015: Jury meeting and report

16 April 2015: Notification of prize-winners
9-11 June 2015: Exhibition of prize-winning and selected entries at
Stage, Set, Scenery in Berlin
9 June 2015: Official Announcement and prize-giving

The Site

The site for the competition is on the northeast bank of the river Spree in Berlin in an area known as the ʻHolzmarktʼ or ʻwood marketʼ.

This part of the river Spree was the boundary between East and West Berlin during the years of the Berlin Wall and as a result became an undeveloped ʻno manʼs landʼ. Since the wall was demolished after unification in 1989 the area has developed slowly with a number of large new corporate buildings further to the east.

In recent years the ʻHolzmarktʼ site, which sits between the river and a railway line, has been occupied by a co-operative who have erected a number of low cost temporary buildings and structures and use the site as a place for young Berliners to enjoy the river, to eat and drink and to hold cultural events and parties. The co-operative have recently won a bid for the development of the site with the support of a Swiss sustainable pension fund. On the opposite bank of the river is the ʻEisfabrikʼ a derelict 19thC ice-making factory and a
squattersʼ camp site.

This is therefore an ʻalternativeʼ kind of place in a state of transition.

In the words of the co-operative:

The Holzmarkt is the center of the neighbourhood – physically and spiritually, the market, the creative village, the club and the restaurant invite, surprise, inspire and entertain. Artists, artisans, musicians and hedonists create with and for each other.

The following drawings and photographs of
the site are provided:

Location Plan

Site photos sheets 1-3

A 3D CAD model of the area will also be made available shortly.

Download the Complete Brief
More information please go to TAC 2015 Official Website

Location: River Spree, Berlin, Germany

10th Theatre Architecture Competition, Hsinchu City, Taiwan

The Theatre Architecture Competition (TAC), organized by Architecture commission of OISTAT -International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians, is an international competition aimed at students and emerging architects and practitioners to showcase their innovation of future theatre architectures.

Themed “Theatre as Public Space”, TAC 2017 opens for submission from February 17 to March 17, 2017. The site will be in Public Activity Center, a disused sports stadium in Hsinchu City, Taiwan.

Theatre Architecture Competition

Welsh Architecture

picture from architect