URBAN PARK AND UNDERGROUND AUDITORIUM FOR THE TATE MODERN GALLERY

LOCATION
London

PROGRAM
Urban Park and Auditorium

YEAR
2010

ETSAG Universidad de Alcalá
Tutor: Ángel Verdasco Novalvos

The project is focused on three essential parameters of the city of London: green areas, urban landmarks and pedestrians. The Tate Modern is an isolated icon whitin its environment (particularly its back side), the project works in two overlapped scales: 1) the necessity to connect the Tate with others landmarks, and 2) its own renovation and adaptation for the new social requests. Museums are no longer art containers,  but new social centres. The new mix-used building is merged within the park, which articulates the whole area.
Taking into account the importance of the chimney in the skyline of London, the new auditorium is buried for preserving the views over it.

This produces an inversion of the normal program of an auditorium, so the accesses and foyers are above the music halls in directly relationship with the park and its new topography.
The auditorium has three different halls, which share the same stage allowing every kind of performance through simple mechanical divisions. 
The three halls are covered by huge concrete beams, which divide the underground world from the public areas. Accesses, ticketing and multifunctional rooms appear inbetween the cross beams. On top of them a new topography creates the green roof. The auditorium is made out of dark wood parquet and an irregular red ceiling of plaster-wood panels that provide the perfec acoustics by following the shape of a cave.