{"id":774511,"date":"2025-02-19T07:14:03","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T07:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=774511"},"modified":"2025-02-20T14:13:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T14:13:32","slug":"invitation-to-the-dance-sadlers-wells-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/invitation-to-the-dance-sadlers-wells-east","title":{"rendered":"Invitation to the dance: Sadler\u2019s Wells East"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In a district of London set to see 33,000 new homes by 2036, O\u2019Donnell + Tuomey\u2019s brick and pantile Sadler\u2019s Wells East is a significant addition to the UK\u2019s national dance infrastructure, dropping a civic and cultural anchor in the form of a 550-seat theatre, six full-scale rehearsal studios, public realm community stages and two new schools of dance \u2013 the Rose School of Choreography and Breakin\u2019 Convention, a hip-hop academy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Dance is a form of human expression older than language, with an important role in ancient civilisations. Or, to put it in the words of American choreographer and dancer Martha Graham: dance is the hidden language of the soul. Given today\u2019s accelerating digitalisation and ever-more binary global politics, it\u2019s perhaps not surprising that the nuance of dance is resonating again, with burgeoning dance cultures building new bridges between high and popular art, live performance and TikTok trends.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_775053\" class=\" wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"breakout wp-image-775053 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-scaled.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-1000x666.webp 1000w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-748x499.webp 748w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-492x328.webp 492w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-1600x1067.webp 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-1800x1200.webp 1800w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-2048x1365.webp 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-185x123.webp 185w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-230x153.webp 230w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100228\/COMBO-01-copy-150x100.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photography by Peter Molloy<\/em><\/p>\n\t<p class=\"inline_image_source\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><p class=\"empty_inline_source\"><\/p><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Visitors to the UK\u2019s new incubator of dance, which opens this month, are most likely to arrive from Stratford Station, now the sixth busiest station in the country. Rising to the pedestrian podium level established by the Olympics masterplan, punters will need to navigate Westfield shopping centre\u2019s cacophony of brands before emerging at the public promenade of Exchange Square in front of Queen Elizabeth Park and super-scale remnants of the 2012 Olympics, including the mothership of main stadium and the extraterrestrial ArcelorMittal Orbit. In the distance, a megastructure of another era, the red brick towers of the former Bryant and May match factory \u2013 rebuilt in 1910, partly in response to the seminal matchgirls\u2019 strike of 1888 \u2013 are a little reminder of the human capital behind the district\u2019s historic industrialisation and brickfields.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_775058\" class=\" wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"breakout wp-image-775058 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100724\/DSF9498-scaled.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1847\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100724\/DSF9498-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100724\/DSF9498-300x216.webp 300w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100724\/DSF9498-1024x739.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100724\/DSF9498-768x554.webp 768w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100724\/DSF9498-1524x1100.webp 1524w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100724\/DSF9498-1663x1200.webp 1663w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100724\/DSF9498-1536x1108.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100724\/DSF9498-2048x1478.webp 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100724\/DSF9498-230x166.webp 230w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100724\/DSF9498-150x108.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photography by Peter Molloy<\/em><\/p>\n\t<p class=\"inline_image_source\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><p class=\"empty_inline_source\"><\/p><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">In contrast with the otherworldly parametrics of the Olympics structures, Sadler\u2019s Wells East is rooted, earthy and orthogonal. The building is part of Stratford Waterfront, a \u2018terrace\u2019 of cultural and educational uses envisioned by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) in a 2015 brief for an international competition \u2013 a contest won by a team consisting of O\u2019Donnell + Tuomey, Allies and Morrison and Girona-based Camps Felip Arquitecturia, with Buro Happold, LDA Design and Gardiner &amp; Theobald. Now almost complete, the terrace sandwiches Allies and Morrison\u2019s London College of Fashion (2023) and forthcoming BBC Music Studios between the bookends of O\u2019Donnell + Tuomey\u2019s Sadler\u2019s Wells East and their \u2006V&amp;A East Museum (set to open in Spring 2026). The wider project, East Bank, included public realm and pedestrian bridges, UCL East (2023) and V&amp;A Storehouse (due in May).<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_775059\" class=\" wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"breakout wp-image-775059 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-scaled.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-1000x666.webp 1000w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-748x499.webp 748w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-492x328.webp 492w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-1600x1067.webp 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-1800x1200.webp 1800w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-2048x1365.webp 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-185x123.webp 185w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-230x153.webp 230w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100904\/COMBO_DSF9558-copy-150x100.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photography by Peter Molloy<\/em><\/p>\n\t<p class=\"inline_image_source\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><p class=\"empty_inline_source\"><\/p><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">\u2018We wanted to create a building that looks as if it was cast, from clay, from the earth, in the Stratford Town tradition,\u2019 says John Tuomey. Central to the desire for a monolithic architecture was a supplier who could make bricks and roof tiles of the same material \u2013 a journey that took the architects to Venice and brickmakers Sant Anselmo. Back in Stratford, O\u2019Donnell + Tuomey has imported the warm, terracotta-hued Venetian bricks and pantiles (including many special makings) to deliver a chromatic punch that\u2019s not dissimilar to the visual impact London\u2019s Board Schools once made on mean Victorian streets.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The building\u2019s site navigates an 8m drop from the pedestrian level of Exchange Square to the vehicular access of Carpenters Road. It was this ground condition, combined with a technical brief setting out precise dimensions for the stage, studios and backstage areas, that largely dictated the building\u2019s organisation, which stacks two levels of tall studios above a \u2018box-in-a-box\u2019 auditorium dropping from an L-shaped foyer at the level of the public realm. \u2018It was an unusual way to start a building,\u2019 says Sheila O\u2019Donnell. \u2018And you might also be surprised by how much structure it takes to support featherweight dancers \u2013 their movements create massive standing waves of reverberation.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_775060\" class=\" wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"breakout wp-image-775060 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-scaled.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1783\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-300x209.webp 300w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-1024x713.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-768x535.webp 768w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-1579x1100.webp 1579w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-1723x1200.webp 1723w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-1536x1070.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-2048x1426.webp 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-160x110.webp 160w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-230x160.webp 230w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17101008\/DSF9614-150x104.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photography by Peter Molloy<\/em><\/p>\n\t<p class=\"inline_image_source\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><p class=\"empty_inline_source\"><\/p><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">An entrance set in the building\u2019s chamfered corner to Exchange Square calls out to theatregoers in virtuoso brickwork, emphatic in its stamp of blind emboss, rather like the urbanism of the Amsterdam School. In the dark, a neon sign declaring \u2018You are welcome\u2019 assists latecomers, some of whom might just register a corbelled brick fly tower off to the right. This is part of the sheer cliff-face of Sadler\u2019s Wells East\u2019s north-east elevation, evocative of shadowy side-walls of West End or Broadway theatres or, perhaps, say the architects, the juxtaposition of buildings in ancient Rome. With steps descending steeply to stage door and get-ins, this is clearly back-of-house territory. Look closely, however, and the volumes of the auditorium are carefully delineated in the recessed jointing of the soaring brick wall.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_775057\" class=\" wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2510px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"breakout wp-image-775057 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1875\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06.webp 2500w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06-1467x1100.webp 1467w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06-1600x1200.webp 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06-1536x1152.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06-2048x1536.webp 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06-440x330.webp 440w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06-230x173.webp 230w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100621\/06-150x113.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photography by Peter Cook<\/em><\/p>\n\t<p class=\"inline_image_source\" style=\"max-width: 2510px;\"><p class=\"empty_inline_source\"><\/p><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">In contrast, the building\u2019s main south-west elevation embraces new public realm and Waterworks River (a channel cut in 1743) in human-scaled proportions. Here, the jagged saw-toothed roof speaks chattily of a once-industrial context as well as of the rhythm of dance, capturing the spirit of notation systems such as Rudolf van Laban\u2019s 1920s Labanotation. A civic-minded, cantilevered concrete canopy \u2013 which Tuomey likens to the eyebrows of the face \u2013 provides this elevation with an expression of \u2018theatre-ness\u2019, while sheltering bays of steel-framed windows that tilt 90\u00ba to maximise the foyer\u2019s inside-outside engagement. Above, clearly legible as part of the theatre\u2019s \u2018frontage\u2019, are the two upper levels of studios, helping to communicate the conceptual journey from choreography to rehearsal to performance. To protect dancers from over-exposure, as well as glare, the glazed walls of first-floor studios are screened by deep stripes of brick-inset louvres, while the upper studios are top lit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">O\u2019Donnell + Tuomey\u2019s research into programmatic requirements involved visits to dance studios across Europe, including those of Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (\u2018forget what you think you know about dance\u2019, she told them). What they noted in particular was that fluid architectural responses to the movement of dance, such as Trinity Laban in south-east London \u2013 had often been \u2018rectiliniarised\u2019 by their occupants.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u2018When a dancer takes off in a pirouette, they want to know where they\u2019re going to land,\u2019 explains O\u2019Donnell. \u2018That means fixed points of reference, preferably at right angles.\u2019<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_775056\" class=\" wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"breakout wp-image-775056 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100539\/09-scaled.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100539\/09-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100539\/09-300x142.webp 300w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100539\/09-1024x486.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100539\/09-768x364.webp 768w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100539\/09-1600x759.webp 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100539\/09-2000x948.webp 2000w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100539\/09-1536x728.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100539\/09-2048x971.webp 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100539\/09-230x109.webp 230w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100539\/09-150x71.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">P<em>hotography by Peter Cook<\/em><\/p>\n\t<p class=\"inline_image_source\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><p class=\"empty_inline_source\"><\/p><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">On the day of my visit, the multiform theatre, developed with theatre consultants Charcoalblue, is set up in traditional end-on (or proscenium arch) format, with steeply raked rows of auditorium seating following a gentle curve to optimise sightlines. In fact, the seating is fully retractable, enabling \u2018black box\u2019 or club stage performances, with dancers and audience at the same level. (This month\u2019s opening show, <i>Our Mighty Groove<\/i>, from choreographer <span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu<\/span>, will use both formats.)<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The proportions of the stage itself precisely replicate those of the Sadler\u2019s Wells theatre in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell, so that shows can easily be transferred between venues. Viewed from the foyer, the auditorium box is expressed in a \u2018crust\u2019 of internal brickwork, offset by the presence of a pair of giant hand-made tapestries from artist Eva Rothschild, created \u2013 like the brickwork \u2013 in episodic manner.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">This spring and into the future the hidden language of dance is set to spill out of the auditorium of Sadler\u2019s Wells East into its foyer and the built environment beyond to a series of public stages created so that dancers from school and community groups can have their moment, dancing like nobody\u2019s watching. Watch this space.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Ellie Duffy is a writer on architecture and design<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_775054\" class=\" wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"breakout wp-image-775054 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-scaled.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-1467x1100.webp 1467w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-1600x1200.webp 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-1536x1152.webp 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-2048x1536.webp 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-440x330.webp 440w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-230x173.webp 230w, https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/02\/17100405\/DSF9599-150x113.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photography by Peter Molloy<\/em><\/p>\n\t<p class=\"inline_image_source\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><p class=\"empty_inline_source\"><\/p><\/p><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Project data<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\"><strong>Location<\/strong>\u00a0\u200aQueen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford<br \/>\n<b>Completion <\/b>November 2024<br \/>\n<b>Gross internal floor area<\/b>\u00a0\u200a8,283m<sup>2<br \/>\n<\/sup><b>Procurement<\/b>\u00a0\u200aNEC 3 Managed Packaged Solution<br \/>\n<b>Construction cost<\/b>\u00a0\u200aUndisclosed<br \/>\n<b>Architect <\/b>O\u2019Donnell + Tuomey<br \/>\n<b>Client<\/b>\u00a0\u200aLondon Legacy Development Corporation<br \/>\n<b>Client partner<\/b>\u00a0Sadler\u2019s Wells<br \/>\n<b>Structural engineer<\/b>\u00a0\u200aBuro Happold<br \/>\n<b>M&amp;E consultant<\/b>\u00a0Buro Happold<br \/>\n<b>Quantity surveyor<\/b>\u00a0Gardiner &amp; Theobald<br \/>\n<b>Theatre consultant<\/b>\u00a0Charcoalblue<br \/>\n<b>Acoustic consultant<\/b>\u00a0Charcoalblue<br \/>\n<b>Fa\u00e7ade engineer<\/b>\u00a0Buro Happold<br \/>\n<b>Landscape consultant<\/b>\u00a0LDA<br \/>\n<b>Fire consultant<\/b>\u00a0Buro Happold<br \/>\n<b>Sustainability consultant<\/b>\u00a0Buro Happold<br \/>\n<b>Lighting consultant<\/b>\u00a0Buro Happold<br \/>\n<b>Foyer feature lighting designer<\/b>\u00a0Aideen Malone<br \/>\n<b>Access consultant<\/b>\u00a0Buro Happold<br \/>\n<b>London Legacy Development Corporation construction manager<\/b>\u00a0Mace<br \/>\n<b>Project manager<\/b>\u00a0Mace<br \/>\n<b>CDM Principal designer<\/b>\u00a0PFB<br \/>\n<b>Approved building inspector<\/b>\u00a0AIS<br \/>\n<b>Main contractor<\/b>\u00a0N\/A<br \/>\n<b>CAD software used<\/b>\u00a0Revit<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Sustainability data<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\"><b>Percentage of floor area with daylight factor &gt;2%:<\/b> Not assessed<br \/>\n<b>Percentage of floor area with daylight factor &gt;5%:<\/b> Not assessed<br \/>\n<b>On-site energy generation:<\/b> 6.3 kWh\/m<sup>2<\/sup>\/yr (2.1% of total annual energy use)<br \/>\n<b>Heating and hot water load:<\/b> 85 kWh\/m<sup>2<\/sup>\/year<br \/>\n<b>Operational energy:<\/b> 297 kWh\/m<sup>2<\/sup>\/year<br \/>\n<b>Total energy load:<\/b> 172 kWh\/m<sup>2<\/sup>\/year (electricity consumption)<br \/>\n<b>Carbon emissions (all):<\/b> 34.7 kgCO<span class=\"s2\"><sub>2<\/sub><\/span>\/m<sup>2<\/sup> (as built)<br \/>\n<b>Annual mains water consumption:<\/b> 1.60 m<sup>3<\/sup>\/occupant<br \/>\n<b>Airtightness at 50Pa:<\/b> 4 m<sup>3<\/sup>\/hr\/m<sup>2<br \/>\n<\/sup><b>Overall thermal bridging heat transfer coefficient (Y-value):<\/b> 0.033 W\/m<sup>2<\/sup>K<br \/>\n<b>Overall area-weighted U-value:<\/b> 0.34 W\/m<sup>2<\/sup>k<br \/>\n<b>Annual CO<\/b><span class=\"s2\"><b><sub>2<\/sub><\/b><\/span><b> emissions:<\/b> 34.7 kgCO<span class=\"s2\"><sub>2<\/sub><\/span>\/m<sup>2<\/sup><br \/>\n<b>Embodied carbon:<\/b> 5,736 tCO<span class=\"s2\"><sub>2<\/sub><\/span>e (estimated, RIBA Stage 4)<br \/>\n<b>Whole-life carbon:<\/b> Not assessed<br \/>\n<b>Predicted design life:<\/b> 60 years<br \/>\n<b>Energy performance certificate rating: <\/b>B<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a district of London set to see 33,000 new homes by 2036, O\u2019Donnell + Tuomey\u2019s brick and pantile Sadler\u2019s Wells East is a significant addition to the UK\u2019s national dance infrastructure, dropping a civic and cultural anchor in the form of a 550-seat theatre, six full-scale rehearsal studios, public realm community stages and two &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81315,"featured_media":775051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[706],"tags":[6413,4534,2229,1698],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Invitation to the dance: Sadler\u2019s Wells East<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In London\u2019s burgeoning East Bank, O\u2019Donnell + Tuomey has created, in the client\u2019s words, a \u2018powerhouse for dance\u2019 that is \u2018an inviting space that is welcome to all\u2019, writes Ellie\u00a0Duffy. 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