Despite pandemic curveballs, designs for the repurposed Sydney Street Courthouse are complete.
Saint John Theatre Company (SJTC) executive director Stephen Tobias said the initial design only had one elevator.
As they adjusted the design through a COVID lens, it made the building bigger.
“The entrance areas were a bit cramped, the backstage areas were a bit cramped. The bathrooms were reconfigured, a whole range of changes which increased the footprint of the building is how we accommodated that. It wasn’t so much that we cut anything as we gave more room for things,” Tobias said.
The former courthouse will be the future home of the Atlantic Repertory Company, the SJTC’s professional development wing for emergency artists.
“We knew that it had to be useful to more than just the Atlantic Repertory Company, who will be the prime user. It was going to have to become a community resource to make sense in the long term. We’ve made flexible staging arrangements. We’ve really accommodated for state-of-the-art technology in the building which is one of the things the other arts organizations wanted to hear,” Tobias said.
Tobias said they have been really fortunate to work with Theatre Consultants Collaborative based in North Carolina.
“They have designed theatres all over North America. They were a great resource for us in terms of giving us ideas and suggestions to create a state-of-the-art performance venue,” Tobias said.
Tobias said windows will be installed this fall but, most of the construction work will start next spring or summer
Barring any major delays, it will be finished in 2025.
In the following exclusive illustrations, posted here courtesy of EXP Architects, you can see how the Courthouse Theatre's innovative design blends contemporary and historical architecture. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/oTz4o7v0Gd
— Saint John Theatre Company (@sjtheatre) August 19, 2022
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