Gateway Theatre

The new Gateway Theatre purports to expand the engagement of the performance arts by creating a new interwoven community of performers and observers. Sections of the existing building were retained, and secondary green ‘relief’ spaces were inserted into an otherwise uniform façade to create a sense of porosity that invites community engagement and participation. The resulting design comprises a nine-storey building with a 1,500-seat auditorium and double- volume black box theatre, with portions of the façade punctured by overlapping green terraces. Pockets of interwoven landscaped sky gardens feature greenery that cascades to the ground level, mitigating the large scale of the block. Crucially, there is a production of spatially and visually enlarged spaces, in an otherwise constrained site. This culminates in a roof garden on the sixth floor. Composed of varying planes, it is an extension of the performance arena and can house several performances simultaneously. The theatre’s overall impression of openness serves as a welcoming gesture to passers-by and the community at large. The greenery melds and integrates with the surrounding urban scape. Functionally, the landscaped sections act as seamless ‘breakout’ spaces, catering for moments of interaction among the community.