Runcorn’s Guggenheim

Seen from across the canal, the Brindley comprises an interplay of complex forms

Take architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner's advice and you’ll give Runcorn a wide berth. But much has happened since he wrote all those years ago of the banality of the town. James Stirling’s brave housing scheme, which attempted to inject some architectural life into the place, was sadly demolished in 1991. But a new arrival promises to give Runcorn a far wider architectural recognition that goes beyond James Brindley’s famous Bridgewater canal of 1772 and the dynamic steel arch road bridge of 1961.

Completed in June 2004, the £7.2m Brindley Arts Centre is Runcorn’s very own performing arts facility and architectural showpiece. Funded by Arts Council lottery monies and the North West Arts regeneration fund, the striking building could have the sort of regenerative effect on Runcorn – albeit on a more modest scale – that Gehry’s Guggenheim has had on Bilbao. Architect John Miller + Partners specified brick not only to reflect Runcorn’s industrial heritage, but also because it is “robust and versatile”. The result, say the architects, is a long-life, sustainable building appropriate for both its location and its history.

The Brindley has three main elements: a 420-seat proscenium theatre with full-height fly tower; a 120-seat multifunctional studio with retractable raked seating for theatrical, dance, musical, cinema and conference events; and an exhibition and education workspace. Distinctly expressed, the three functions give the building an unmistakeably organic shape that even pilots descending into Liverpool’s busy John Lennon Airport are unlikely to miss.

A top-lit, double-height foyer links the primary elements and follows the curve of the building. The dynamic space that results contains a bar, display area and seating alcoves, and at first floor level a café–restaurant enjoys a generous south-facing terrace overlooking the canal. Thanks to a smart detail which sees the glazing mullion fully recessed into the wall, the external brickwork makes an almost imperceptible transition into the foyer to form an impressive concave, fairfaced wall that is beautifully defined by the red and blue stripes of the brickwork.

A bold main auditorium drum and 20 m high fly-tower are the generating forms of the building, around which the other facilities are arranged. Indeed, the first thing you notice as you come up the approach ramp is the play of forms that cluster at the base of the organically-shaped auditorium, expressed as a green-clad, metal-skinned drum. Red and blue striped brickwork, here gently curved, there flat as a pancake, invites the visitor to continue and, in the process, makes an abstract statement that is punctured only in a few places by windows of attractive proportions: four at ground floor level and the prismatic oriel of the first floor exhibition space. The overall effect is of a monumentality that belies the relatively compact layout of the building.

Brick is the all-pervading material. And you are reminded of it at every turn, even as you walk around to the service areas at the rear, where a succession of brick forms, such as the semi-circular service staircase or the enormous fly tower, provide almost as much geometric variety as on the front of the building.

Engineering brick was an obvious choice, particularly given the canalside location, and the decision to alternate red and blue bands has helped tie together the building’s disparate forms. The effect is reinforced by the well-defined brick arrises and the dramatic use of recessed joints. Originally, the architects specified a subtle 3 mm recess but were persuaded by the contractor that 5 mm would be easier to execute. Yet it is still surprising that even at only 5 mm deep, the joint recess gives such a marked textural feel that it serves to reinforce the brickwork’s linearity.

Ten different brick specials have been used. These range from pistol stretchers for use on shelf angles over door and window openings; radial stretchers used to form the tight curve of the rear service staircase, and bullnose cappings to the freestanding ramp walls of the café terrace. Naturally many of the special types had to be supplied in both red and blue.

Brickwork workmanship is of a high standard throughout, although it is compromised by the areas around the café terrace where salts have leached out from backfill material and are causing unsightly staining. This is a shame and underlines the importance of effective tanking to protect the front face of the brickwork.

Nonetheless, this is a minor point. The Brindley Arts centre is a worthy building and probably the best thing to have happened to Runcorn for a long time. It did not win a prize in last year’s Brick Awards, but it recently gained a Civic Trust Award, together with the 2005 Special Centre Vision Award for the best regeneration project in a town and city centre. And what Pevsner would have made of those, goodness only knows.

For further information call the BDA on 01344-885651

Project team

client Halton council
architect  John Miller + Partners
structural engineer Dewhurst Macfarlane & Partners
QS Faithful & Gould
brickwork contractor G&J Sedden
services engineer SVM