O'DonnellBrown frames Scottish performing arts hub with timber colonnade

Scottish architecture studio O'DonnellBrown has overhauled and extended a 1970s community centre in Kilmarnock to create a performing arts hub for the charity organisation Take A Bow.

The studio has transformed the building into a versatile space for youth performance and development, while preserving and improving as much of the existing building fabric as possible.

Children outside community centre — O'DonnellBrown has overhauled a 1970s community centre in Scotland

O'DonnellBrown was commissioned by not-for-profit performing arts organisation Take A Bow in 2021. From the early design stages, the studio worked with the local community to tailor the space to their needs.

In response, the studio updated the building's entrance and exterior appearance, improved the existing auditorium and repositioned the changing rooms.

Timber canopy outside Take A Bow centre Scotland — The project was designed for the performing arts charity Take A Bow

Marking the transformation, a glued-laminated (glulam) timber colonnade was added along the south elevation, with the existing car park relocated to the rear of the building.

"Its primary function is to create a new frontage, one that unifies the new and existing parts of the building, and provides an improved sense of arrival," O'DonnellBrown director Michael Dougall told Dezeen.

"Secondly, it provides a covered space which can be used by the adjoining cafe and as an external stage for performances," he said.

Timber colonnade outside Kilmarnock's Take A Bow centre — A timber colonnade marks the transformation

In the extension is a multipurpose space for rehearsals, youth work and dance classes, fitted with suspended LED lighting.

When performances take place, the space can be used as a changing room with direct access to the stage – something users felt was lacking in the centre's original layout.

Its position has improved the sequence of spaces while allowing the majority of internal partitions to remain in place.

Purple render on performing arts centre Scotland — The studio carried out an energy-focused retrofit

In the main performance hall, bleachers have been added to create a flexible, auditorium-style space for a variety of community activities.

Alongside the theatre are social spaces including a cafe and bar, where a new window frames views of the neighbouring park.

A plywood reception desk and bar counter have also been added, finished in pink and purple hues in a nod to the Take A Bow brand identity.

Other additions to the building include spaces for meetings and workshops, which will extend to areas outside the performing arts, such as IT development, STEM classes and holiday clubs.

Dance class in community centre extension — A multi-purpose space is fitted with LED lighting

The original concrete blockwork of the building required updating due to problems with rising damp, asbestos and inadequate insulation.

A new layer of wall insulation has been added to improve the thermal performance, while a purple render has refreshed the ageing grey concrete exterior.

Theatre inside Take A Bow performing arts centre — Bleachers were added to the auditorium

To further improve the building's energy efficiency and reduce its operational energy and running costs, the studio developed a strategy with energy consultant Carbon Futures.

This led the studio to install air-source heat pumps and LED lighting, which it said has resulted in a 70 per cent reduction in the centre's annual energy consumption and carbon emissions.

In the remainder of the building, a large proportion of the existing fabric has been revamped and retained.

"All existing windows which were not altered remained, and all existing floors and ironmongery were refurbished and retained," Michael said. "We set out to retain as much of the existing building as possible."

Purple plywood reception and bar inside Take A Bow centre — Purple-toned plywood joinery nods to the charity's branding

"The revitalised centre is now a welcoming, low-energy space that supports a wide range of social, cultural and educational activities," concluded Dougall.

O'DonnellBrown is an architecture studio that was founded in Glasgow in 2013 by Jennifer O'Donnell and Sam Brown. Its other projects recently featured on Dezeen include an outdoor shelter for an arts centre in Edinburgh and a pavilion in a Scottish park made from recycled materials.

The photography is by David Barbour.

Project credits:

Architect: O'DonnellBrown
Structural engineer: David Narro Associates
Services engineer: Hawthorne Boyle
Quantity surveyor: Armour Construction Consultants
Energy consultant: Carbon Futures
Building surveyor: Kerr Baxter Associates

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