British practice Tim Ronalds Architects has converted a 19th-century malt house in Canterbury into a theatre for The King?s School, using an "as found" approach that celebrates the industrial building's original steel, brick and timber structure.
The London-based firm completed The Malthouse in 2019, following an invited competition by the school to create a host of new spaces, including a 400-seat theatre, dance and drama studios, dressing rooms and wardrobe facilities.
Adopting an approach of "doing no more than was necessary", much of the existing layout and finish of the original 1898 building has been retained, with what the practice call "structural surgery" used to create the new spaces.
Tim Ronalds Architects converted a 19th-century malt house in Canterbury into a theatre "The Malthouse looks monolithic, but within has three distinct parts which mirror the [malting] process," explained the practice.
"In each part, the aim was to preserve the quality of the found space ? the warm, rough texture of the thick brick walls, the muscular cast iron columns and beams, the heavy timber floors and trusses."
In the centre of the building, the large central kiln was cut away to open up a foyer space, centred around a weathering steel and wood staircase illuminated by a skylight in what would have been one of the malt house's ventilation stacks.
The interior celebrates the industrial history of the building
Perforated terraco...