Sadler's Wells Theatre

Project Country: UK 

Architect: O'Donnell + Tuomey

Brickwork Contractor: Galostar

Situated in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, this scheme regenerates a former industrial brownfield site as an Olympic legacy project. Housing a flexible dance theatre and six choreography studios, Sadler’s Wells east bookends a terrace of cultural buildings and provides a dedicated, flexible space for contemporary dance. The venue is open all day and serves the community of Stratford through open access.

Design

Sadler’s Wells is designed to be welcoming and ready for work, a square building with a measured plan. A deep canopy signals a welcoming gesture to the park, providing shade and shelter to the entrance. Inside the foyer is a public living room, including a café and community dance platform. Above the foyer and auditorium, Studios wrap the flytower with sawtooth roofs enlivening the skyline. Brickwork steps and chamfers to enhance depth and surface. The arrangement of parts, derived from fixed and rectangular dimensional requirements, is expressed in rhythmic composition around the dramatic volume of the flytower. The BREEAM Excellent project creates a new home for dance that is open and welcoming to all.

Brick design and craftsmanship

The building is already thriving in use and its exceptional brickwork craftsmanship is proudly on display.

The projecting, corbelled, sloped and louvred brick took months of dedicated work by the team of designers, project managers, bricklayers and site managers, overcoming the challenges of three-dimensional movement, acoustic tolerance, A1 fireproofing and waterproofing. The visual centrepiece of the project is the dramatic clay brick louvres, suspended 900mm apart. To secure them and give the illusion of floating mid-air as they project horizontally across the building, Galostar (the brick contractor) developed a bespoke hidden rail support system that would work specifically for this innovative feature.

The textured façade showcases the design team’s and contractor’s expertise in precision and skill. Bricks project in and out by 102.5mm, an unusual and highly challenging specification in UK construction. All protrusions were resin-fixed after site-specific load testing, ensuring performance under structural and access constraints. 250 bespoke clay moulds were crafted to match the architect’s precise vision and avoid unsightly cuts or glued solutions.

Bringing further complexity, the building features corbelled brick chimneys, sloped perforated panels, and folding walls, all designed and crafted with meticulous attention to detail. Above the foyer and auditorium, studios wrap the fly tower with sawtooth roofs, and to reflect the site’s industrial past, all exterior elements including walls, soffits, and roofs were clad in rich purple handmade Venetian bricks and clay tiles from the esteemed Italian manufacturer S.Anselmo. The clay shingle and green roofs, vertical tile panels, and coordinated pressings and paving all contribute to the striking visual identity.

Additional features which demanded exceptional skill and craftmanship in design and delivery included:
• double-height entrance with a specially manufactured pointed brick
• stage door, framed by corbelled brickwork that intersects in two directions to accommodate a chimney
• upper levels of the fly tower, with a system of secondary steels and masonry brackets steelwork support the brick façade.