The 268-seat Performance Hall has been created to provide a reconfigurable space for larger events and functions. Charcoalblue's head of technical design, Paul Franklin, advised on the design and fit out of the performance hall and oversaw the works on site during construction.
"The Performance Hall is a flexible, multi-function room, capable of hosting a wide range of events, including drama, dance, live music - both amplified and acoustic - as well as film and 'NT live' type events, lectures and workshops," explains Franklin.
"It will also cater for flat floor events such as functions, exhibitions, book weeks etc. Seating can be configured over two levels, stage (ground) level and gallery. The gallery connects the Hall to the mezzanine level of the building and contains two rows of seating as well as providing a home for the technical control position."
The Jewish Centre reports that over 4,500 people have streamed through its doors every week since opening. Having already hosted a wide range of jazz, hip hop, comedy, theatre, talks, school assemblies, parents' evenings, dance and more in the main Hall alone, Raymond Simonson, chief executive of JW3 says he is delighted with the outcome: "Charcoalblue has been amazingly supportive throughout the project. To be honest, I don't know how we would have done it without them. We were inspired and excited by their ideas and the subsequent development of the project itself."
The Performance Hall sits alongside offices, cafes and dance and art studios. There is also a fully HD-ready cinema, for which Charcoalblue specified technical systems and designed the seating arrangements, along with the building wide, fully integrated paging systems.
(Jim Evans)
