The Grove Theatre
Dunstable, United Kingdom
Project Type: New Construction
Opening: 2007
Seat Count:780
Construction Cost: £19.6 Million
Architect: Glenn Howells Architects
AD Scope: Acoustics, Sound Isolation,
Noise Control
The Grove Theatre is a multiuse performance center situated in Grove House Gardens. The auditorium seats 780 people on two levels (Stalls and Circle). The Stalls seating is also retractable allowing access to a flat floor space that increases the capacity to 1,000.
We worked with the design team to create a space that would support mixed and diverse entertainment incorporating drama, dance, music, comedy, musicals, film and community performances. Like many arts centers, this diversity of programming allows the venue to be not only culturally vibrant but also economically viable.
The key acoustical issue here was to establish the range of performances for which to achieve excellence. We assisted the Client in assessing the options of accommodating unamplified orchestra performances within the auditorium both in terms of cost and space requirements. As orchestral use would have been rare, the final brief was to achieve excellence for amplified sound including lightly-amplified “orchestral pops” with a seated audience and full rock-and-roll events with a flat floor. This has proven to be a popular decision with over 100,000 visitors to the theatre recorded in the first year of operation.
