State Puppet Theatre, Stara Zagora

Competition entry for a new building of the State Puppet Theatre in Stara Zagora, next to the existing theatre on General Gurko Street. The leading idea is a natural blending of architecture and park, and an interpretation of the gesture of the artist's hand as the essence of puppetry.

The volumes are wrapped in translucent profiles of high-tech glass with a low carbon footprint. The material emphasises the mass and gives the complex a single image, reminiscent of the wrapped buildings of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The silhouettes showing through are an attraction by day and by night and blur the line between inside and outside.

Composition

The composition is organised around two centres. The first is the main hall: an enclosed volume with mobile stands and walls that allows any arrangement of the audience, with a goods lift and a store serving the old and the new stage. The second is an open atrium that connects all levels and unites the interior. The atrium opens fully onto the inner courtyard, planted with existing and new large trees. A summer stage and a roof terrace for the public are provided.

Technology

Climate control uses energy-efficient heat pumps and ventilation with heat recovery. Timber acoustic cladding, living green walls and multimedia screens face the public space on the ground floor. The structure is simple and efficient, with a height that leaves room for the services.