Top architect in row over theatre's 'serious faults'

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Archiseek / UK / Scotland / News / 2004 / October 5

One of Scotland's leading architects has been drawn into a row about his firm's design of a Ł3 million arts centre in contention for a major prize. The Eastgate Theatre and Arts Centre, in Peebles, was converted from an 1871 church by Richard Murphy Architects, the award-winning Edinburgh firm, and opened to great fanfare in March. It was recently shortlisted for the Best Building in Scotland award by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS). But in a letter to The Scotsman, leading representatives of actors and theatre companies have made a stinging attack on "serious faults" in the design. Lorne Boswell, the Scottish secretary of the actors' union Equity, and Eddie Jackson, chairman of the Federation of Scottish Theatres, wrote: "Perhaps when RIAS considers buildings for awards, it should consider not only imaginative design flourishes but also basic practicality for a building's users and audiences."

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