The Theatre & Buildings ‘Front of House’

Orientation
The proposed location of the new Eastwood Theatre is on the eastern edge of the building plan.

The positioning of the theatre provides the facility with a ‘front of house’ and a civic expression towards its principal approach.

In addition to culturally animating the buildings front door, encouraging footfall the theatre stage area is also well located for essential service access and egress.

Aspect
Additionally, the theatre has the potential to activate the public spaces around the building with different uses.

On the buildings east elevation the opportunity exists for an
Eastwood Theatre restaurant with an area for external seating.

To the north extending directly behind the theatre a foyer bar is
well located to again enliven the buildings perimeter.

South of the theatre directly behind the stage area and back of house there is an area where outdoor theatre and performance events can occur.

This area benefits from a sunny ‘garden’ aspect.

Concept Diagram: Gym, Courts, Arcade, Cafe & Library

Orientation
The gym and courts area are organised each side of a proposed leisure arcade that helps link the south and north areas of the park.

During the day the arcade will be a convenient through route for pedestrians.

A cafe and reception space will orientate people helping make what is a large building highly legible.

It will be super clear where activities are and how to get to them, whilst ensuring supervision and necessary security measures.

There is the prospect of incorporating a local library service to encourage further community synergies.

Aspect
The north south arcade axis is strategically planned to provide an entrance to the building from both the south garden area and from the area of parking and from St.Ninians School to the north.

The ability to access the park at these points supports increased external sports activities through the provision of convenient changing areas and
amenity

Concept Diagram: The Swimming Pools & Wet Areas


Orientation
The swimming pools are located at the western end of the proposed building.

This end of the park is quieter and less trafficked.

The ancillary and changing areas are located to the north against the existing football pitch to allow the pools to take advantage of the
open views to the south towards the existing Eastwood House.

Aspect
The swimming areas are presented with a wooded outlook helping to reinforce the visitor experience, a sense of wellbeing and to respect the existing mature trees.

Efficiency of Concept Diagram

Orientation
All of the buildings activities have been arranged to optimise adjacencies, legibility, internal circulation, access, security & supervision and importantly mechanical & electrical servicing and structural efficiency.

The building is ‘skewed’ with a super rational east west route that organises the large span activities to the south and the small span spaces to the north.

This route will help make a very large building easy to navigate, operate
and environmentally control.

Aspect
All of the internal activities take full advantage of a positive aspect towards the parkland setting.

The character areas and social pockets surrounding the building will help to
humanise the architecture and contextualise it.



Environmental Response

Orientation
The proposal presents a long south elevation that elegantly inserts itself into the landscape so as to frame the north edge of the Eastwood House garden area and set itself back from impacting on the existing trees.

Fundamentally the proposed building plan has been organised to take advantage
of this south facing orientation.

From an environmental design perspective this has numerous advantages, with regards to energy consumption and daylighting.

Aspect
The buildings natural setting is and its relationship to Eastwood House has been carefully considered.

The buildings scale and proximiety is informed by new garden narrative that frames context, allowing the building to become more a ‘background’
building than a ‘foreground’ feature.

The northern side of the building is much more functional with parking and playing fields, the buildings siting effectively helping to mask these uses from the more picturesque area around the existing house.

Open Space & Parking

Pedestrian Priority
The Park requires to be pedestrian prioritised with vehicles being required to reduce their speed and give-way to people and cyclists.

The traffic management tries to avoid the cross over between people, pathways and roads where possible.

Parking is generally gathered to the eastern edge of the park although further rationalisation is possible.

Diagrammatic Plans

Plan Diagram Testing and Flexibility
The key diagrammatic principles have been tested with a variety of sizes of building.

Examples of aspects tested are as follows.
• Allowing generous circulation and arrival space to recognise the potential for events and to accommodate activities for all ages groups complimentary to the cafe space

• Potential for the health suite to deliver an attractive spa experience

• Generous provision for circulation in the theatre recognising emphasis on
spectators, performers and technicians with mobility considerations

• Generous support space provision to theatre including social space, a studio theatre a rehearsal space reflecting this a main arts and culture offer in East Renfrewshire.

• Generous provision for storage allowing flexible use of spaces to be optimised.

• Potential to incorporate other complimentary facilities including a library, agile workspace and meeting spaces.

The process demonstrates a clear flexibility which will enable the design to be managed to suit key considerations including quality of spaces and facilities, flexibility of facilities for general use and events, budget and lifecyle cost.

Eastwood House

Potential Orangerie

An orangery could provide potential for larger events.

It could potentially also accommodate council chambers and existing area in
Eastwood House could become facilities for elected members and other council services alongside existing community uses.

The floor area of the orangery shown adjacent is 400sqm which is similar in scale to the existing council chambers.