Architecture watchdog conducts public review of Levitt Bernstein鈥檚 Shrewsbury theatre and Farrell鈥檚 national park

As part of Architecture Week, CABE has allowed the public to see its secretive design review process in action. The commission鈥檚 design review panel considered an application by Terry Farrell & Partners and another by Levitt Bernstein Associates before a live audience for the first time.

While Sir Terry Farrell鈥檚 proposal to convert the Thames Gateway into a national park was the more ambitious of the two, Levitt Bernstein鈥檚 scheme for a 拢17m theatre complex in Shrewsbury was more typical.

The theatre drew detailed though constructive criticism from several panel members.

The practice had spent four years designing a 650-seat theatre, studio theatre and dance studio on the Severn riverfront overlooking the historic town centre.

鈥淲e wanted to create a landmark building, but also a welcoming building that would draw people into it,鈥� said Gary Tidmarsh, a director of Levitt Bernstein. 鈥淲e wanted to engage the surroundings on all four sides to bring people along the riverside into the scheme. It is a cluster of buildings rather than one monolith. There are vistas through the building, and the fly-tower is a point block that is slim and nicely proportioned.鈥�

Peter Jarrett, city planning chairman, took exception to the prominent fly-tower. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a landmark architecture, but you don鈥檛 want it to shout out,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t should have a quiet presence.鈥�

Among the CABE panellists there was a consensus that the scheme was too bitty and over-articulated. 鈥淚f this is a civic building, then you need a big gesture. But the riverside elevation is over-fussy,鈥� said historic area planner Chris Miele. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e made it look like a small building, but it isn鈥檛,鈥� said architect Pankaj Patel. 鈥淚 would have liked a simpler palette of materials and forms.鈥�

Summing up the discussion, CABE deputy chairman Paul Finch encouraged a simplification and rationalisation of the scheme. 鈥淵ou have ended up with something that is less than the sum of its parts rather than more than the sum of its parts. So I just think that you should take a step back and take a deep breath and reconsider it.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 tough on architects to go through a design review in the public gaze,鈥� added Finch. After the meeting, Tidmarsh accepted that the comments were 鈥渂loody useful鈥�, but regretted that the review was not held before the planning application had been made, when it would have been more useful.