Pamela Sanderson

There are plans and funding to build an additional concert hall in Edinburgh.  This design thesis argues that it should be relocated in Cumbernauld.

North Lanarkshire Council has high-level plans to re-develop Cumbernauld’s town centre.  These plans include demolition of the Cumbernauld Centre - the iconic megastructure which has divided critics for decades.  Re-use of the Centre is not just plausible, it’s the right thing to do for the local community, and towards efforts to reduce our impact on climate change.  Creating a new theatre venue in Cumbernauld would act as a catalyst for positive change, re-generating the town organically.  It would make a massive difference to how the town is perceived by the public and enjoyed by its residents.

The design thesis proposes to build a National Opera House in Cumbernauld.  A purpose-built opera and ballet venue to be the permanent home of the Scottish National Opera.

Why opera?  Because music has the ability to make us feel and move our spirits.  Whether that’s bopping along to ABBA, or moving to the latest song.  Combine the power of music with that of the human voice - with all its nuances and complexity and you have a potent, sometimes overwhelming musical experience.  Opera.

The design is comprised of a mass-timber construction theatre nestled in the concrete Cumbernauld Centre.  A glulam and glass roof covers the structure uniting the 2 remaining sides of the Centre, creating a public atrium.