The Cube with a Veil
The new Puppetry Arts Center is situated in the north west corner of the site, detached from the old puppet theatre and the school. This positioning retains the existing tree cover and establishes a seamless transition from the old to the new building. The residual space forms the movement route from the two roads into the site.
Both the new and the old buildings are unified through a continuous porch. This also serves as their primary entrance from the north. The facade of the volume is kept unhindered and the resultant porch is oriented in the east-west direction similar to that of the old building.
The porch opens into the plaza which morphs into an extension for the two buildings whenever required. The paved plaza and the soft ground of the garden dominated by large trees is connected through landscape. Such a continuity enhances the connectivity with the immediate context of Stara Zagora. The café to the south of the building opens up into the garden. Designed with movable furniture, it creates a lively public space that is always accessible.
The design proposes a translucent outer volume – a veil for the building. It is free of the functional spaces that are offset from the façade. The theatre and the rehearsal space can be seen as a void within a void. On the ground and the first floor, the theatre is surrounded by the service space. The second and third floors accommodate the residential blocks and the administration area respectively besides the rehearsal space. The basement houses the storage space and the warehouse.
The theatre extends into the plaza and is insulated by use of sound-proof sliding folding doors to create an ideal multipurpose space. The plaza accommodates the stagecraft (lighting and screen/curtains) in its ceiling.
The plaza and porch help unify the proposed and the existing buildings while retaining their individual character. The proposal is restrained – sitting subtly on the site without interrupting the topography. The translucent disposition and the height restriction derived from the surrounding buildings help integrate it better with the site’s urban condition. The movement route from the north and west enhances the connectivity in the neighbourhood while also creating a new public space.