Happiness Centre will include four-storey tickling stick in honour of late comedian’s hallmark prop
Proposals by AHMM to create a four-storey annex to Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre to honour the late comedian Ken Dodd have been approved by the city council.
The practice has carried out upgrade and expansion work at the grade II-listed venue before, including the refurbishment of neighbouring pub the Penny Farthing as the theatre’s Courtyard bar.
Under the proposals, that building will be demolished to make way for a 1,743 sq m structure called the Sir Ken Dodd Happiness Centre, a nod to the comedian’s signature song. Dodd died in 2018 at the age of 90.
The Happiness Centre will feature a reception area and café on the ground floor, kitchen and dining space on the first floor, studio space for events and workshops on the second floor, a permanent exhibition in memory of Dodd on the third floor and a terrace lobby on the fourth floor.
AHMM’s design for the centre features a smile-shaped window on the third floor – with the glass extending to the upper floor’s balcony.
The practice’s proposals also feature a four-storey “tickling stick”, a super-sized version of one of Dodd’s hallmark props.
AHMM said its original brief from client, the Royal Court Theatre and Dodd’s widow, Anne, had been to provide a permanent home for the Happiness! exhibition, currently being staged at the Museum of Liverpool.
As well as AHMM, the project team includes structural engineer Elliott Wood, services, acoustic and fire engineer Arup and project manager and cost consultant Modero.
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