The Yard Theatre, Hackney Wick, East London
LOCATION
hackney wick, london, UK
CLIENT
the yard theatre
Designer
takero shimazaki architects
PRODUCT
K-briq
APPLICATION
principal facade & features
WASTE REPURPOSED
~17 tonnes
CARBON SAVED
>3.5 tonnes Co2e
Contractor
Gf HOLDINGS
“The Yard Theatre’s material palette brings the project’s ethos to life, combining resourcefulness, creativity and sustainability. Re-used materials sit alongside innovative products such as Kenoteq’s K-Briq that delivers both environmental benefits and visual impact. Its striking magenta, blue and cyan colours take their cue from Hackney Wick’s vibrant graffiti culture, rooting the theatre in its local context whilst expressing optimism for the next generation of artists and performers.”
Takero Shimazaki
In one of London’s coolest and most colourful neighbourhoods, the K-BRIQ® has taken centre stage in the transformation of one of London’s most distinctive independent theatres.
The UK-manufactured K-BRIQ® has been used to create the colourful principal facade of the newly rebuilt Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick, placing the innovation at the heart of a major new cultural landmark.
Designed by RIBA award-winning Takero Shimazaki Architects, the new 220-seat venue replaces The Yard’s original theatre and is more than twice the size. Sustainability has been embedded throughout the redevelopment with low carbon materials, natural ventilation and environmentally conscious design principles helping shape the finished building.
The facade of low-carbon K-BRIQs mirrors Hackney Wick’s postwar industrial vernacular, and the theatre’s name is inscribed on its gable in a faint pattern that is deliberately reminiscent of the faded signs of the surrounding wharves and warehouses.
The use of the unfired, fully recyclable K-BRIQ® has recycled over 16 tonnes of UK construction and demolition waste and has used 95% less carbon emissions in its manufacture than traditional clay bricks.
What makes this project special is that sustainability is not hidden away. The K-BRIQ forms part of the building’s public face and shows how lower carbon materials can help create and refurbish buildings that are very bit as distinctive, creative and memorable as their conventional counterparts. Kenoteq is very proud that the K-BRIQ has played a role in bringing such an important cultural building to life.
