The Brindley is a theatre and arts centre in the town of Runcorn

Runcorn

Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...

, Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, England. Located by the Bridgewater Canal

Bridgewater Canal

The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...

, the centre is named after the canal's engineer, James Brindley

James Brindley

James Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.-Early life:...

. It opened in autumn 2004; the architects were John Miller and Partners. The building is owned by Halton Borough Council and its activities are organised by the council.

Design and construction

Halton Borough Council were concerned about the building's impact on the environment and about its energy requirements. Therefore "low energy, high efficiency techniques" were used in its construction. These include a TermoDeck slab system, a storage technique for controlling the environment within large and medium-sized buildings using hollow cores within pre-cast concrete floor slabs as ventilation ducts.

Facilities

The venue consists of a 420-seat main auditorium

Auditorium

An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...

 playing host to touring productions, a pantomime

Pantomime

Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...

 each January, local amateur shows and in-house productions, a 108-seat studio which also serves as a single screen cinema, an exhibition and gallery space, an education room, a dark room, a digital imaging room, dressing rooms, a meeting room, a bar and a café overlooking the Bridgewater Canal

Bridgewater Canal

The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...

.

Awards

The centre has won several awards for its architecture: The Centre Vision Award from The Civic Trust

Civic Trust

The Civic Trust of England was a charitable organisation founded in 1957. It ceased operations in 2009 and went into administration due to lack of funds/...

 in 2005, the Excellence in Access award from the ADAPT Trust (Access for Disabled People to Arts Premises Today), and the Architectural Award from the Royal Institute of British Architects

Royal Institute of British Architects

The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...

. RIBA praised the building for fitting into its context, using the canal-side location to give views, and making good use of its budget. It also won the Open Award for Technical Excellence in Architectural Technology 2008.

For its community activities, The Brindley won the title Best Arts Project in the UK at The National Lottery Awards in 2007. In May 2008, the theatre won the Best Performance Venue Award at the Mersey Partnership Tourism Awards 2008.

External links

• The Brindley website
• The Brindley Arts Centre (RIBA) (with photograph from the canal side)