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Quay Arts Centre
Sea Street, Newport, Isle of Wight
The arts centre occupies three industrial buildings, which face south on the Medina River and have a long secondary street behind and a narrow entrance elevation to Sea Street. Two of the buildings were already joined above an inlet of the river and the third was joined in our scheme with a new timber building.
Towards the rear of the scheme a solid timber boarded facade of the new building continues the sinuous line of the street whilst also providing loading access for large-scale scenery and art pieces. Towards the river it is a covered terrace that is detailed as sparsely as a boat shed.
On the ground floor a long public space threads through the four buildings, connecting the shop and box office in the reception at Sea Street with the workshops and a small gallery in the river building at the rear of the complex. The route guides visitors through the complex over a bridge crossing the river inlet to a café overlooking the water.
The first floor contains 130 seat theatre, which can be transformed with the aid of retractable seating into an open space for dance and exercise classes and a visual arts gallery that is adaptable for painting and sculpture, film and video.
Completion date: 1998
Client: Quay Arts Centre
Awards: Special Mention Civic Trust Awards 1999
Photographs: Hélène Binet, Javier Mozas
