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Burwell Deakins Architects is to design a new performing arts centre for Plymouth University.

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The four-storey £7m building will house performance and rehearsal spaces and is part of a master plan for Plymouth's cultural quarter, which will also connect the city's museum to the university campus.

According to Burwell Deakins Architects, the 1,600 sq m building will have extensive glazed areas, allowing passers-by to see into a triple-height main performance space on the ground floor.

This performance space has been designed to hold a seated audience of 220 (which rises to 400 when the audience is standing).

The entire facility has been designed to maximise disability access, so that students with disabilities can access the rigging and lights above the stage, according to the architects.

The building will also include offices and a bespoke music lab on the third floor, a rehearsal room on the second floor and a double-height black-box theatre on the first floor.

The Performing Arts Centre is the eighth project Burwell Deakins Architects has worked on at Plymouth University.
burwellarchitects.com