EXPLANATORY NOTE
for the International Architectural Concept Design Competition for
CENTER FOR EXPERIMENTAL PUPPET ART
to the STATE PUPPET THEATER - Stara Zagora
The task we set ourselves when we started to develop the conceptual project was to cover the broad-spectrum possibilities of theater as art. Our goals extend to that, to develop the space and combine it with the dynamics, potential and development of the activity in the puppet theater.
The lines and shapes we have chosen are smooth, elliptical, intertwining into each other.
We have kept the functional requirements by adding rooms that will support the overall organization in the theater - from making sets, costumes for the actors, rooms for music audio, video recording and composing music. The space in the building predisposes flexibility in planning decisions and different combinations in their planning.
Our proposal is to locate the entrance for employees on the first floor from "General Gurko" street, and the main entrance of the building is designed at the corner of "General Gurko" and Tsar Ivan Asen I Street".
On the ground level, the entrance lobby is part of a space that allows for smaller performances and events. The height of the lobby is equal to two service floors /ground floor and second floor/, located to the east in close proximity to the existing building of the puppet theater.
In the inner courtyard there is a summer scene with seating, isolated by the architectural line of the building and separated from the street by a fence of rich natural vegetation.
The main hall covers much of the third floor of the building. It is accessed by a spectacular wide curved staircase following the facade line from the ground floor foyer. This staircase will provide visibility to the lobby during performances and other events on first floor.
Vertical communications to the main hall except the staircase are and two elevators. A second direct exit from the main hall has been designed, which will ensure the safety of visitors and employees in emergency situations.
The hall measures 15/23 m, its shape is adaptable to internal reorganization of the stage and seating, interactive simulations and projections are possible.
We plan to convert a small part of the roof of the existing theater building into a terrace. The terrace is separated from this floor’s lobby by glass showcases, and when opened, this space will be used as a third event room.
On the fourth floor, there are office premises serving the hall, as well as the residential block.
Installations for heating and ventilation of the building, solar panels, etc. will be located in the roof space.
The facade solution of the building derives from the multi-layered meaning of the word "theatre". The forming line of the building is smooth, flowing into the surrounding space, being perceived unobtrusively by the human eye, through the scale and two-layered silhouette of the building.
The building is surrounded by the crowns of the preserved existing trees.
In the high volume of the building, in part of it are depicted relief sculptures figures of famous characters in children's and adult theater productions. The figures will be borrowed from the productions in Bulgaria after the Renaissance, such as the comedy "Mihal Mishkoed", the melodrama "Mnogostradalna Genoveva", "Malakova", a comedy by P.R. Slaveykov and others. Also a modern hero’s from Bulgarian and foreign fairy tales, such as Neroden Petko, Grandfather pulls turnips, Rye bread and others. These frescoes will show the multifaceted appearance and richness of Puppet art in Bulgaria and the world.
