page_title: National Theatre of Bahrain
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: National Theatre of Bahrain / Design
caption_attribution_description: English: A view from the Novotel on Sheikh Hamad Causeway overlooking the Bahrain National Museum.
context_page_description: The National Theatre of Bahrain is a waterfront building complex situated in Manama next to the Bahrain National Museum, and consists of a main 1001-seat auditorium and a smaller 150-seat flexible studio theatre. Opened on 12 November 2012 and costing $50 million, the theatre encompasses an area of 11,869 square metres making it the third largest theatre in the Middle East.
context_section_description: The theatre was designed by the French company Architecture-Studio, with Atkins serving as the local consultant. Other consultants were Theatre Projects Consultants, SETEC Bâtiment, XU Acoustique and L'Observatoire. 
  The theatre's structure was built as a cubic glass shaped building, alongside an artificial lake which was meant to provide a promenade for visitors, with the roof coated in gold colouring- some commentators have dubbed the theatre as having an "Arabian Nights theme". The architects wanted the roof to create a "shimmering gold jewel" effect and as a result, the stainless steel cladding panels were measured down and sent to a British company Rimex to add an unidentified compound to produce this effect. The foyer's floor is made of Paloma stone from Italy, with the walls being made of glass which allows visitors to obtain an unblocked view of the lagoon outside. The glass relied on a unique glazing system that involved using 54mm thick glass panels that acted as the main structural component in holding the main glass in place. These main glass pieces were 11 metres (36 ft) high and were bonded with the glass fins of the structure using a special type of silicone with an Aluminium extrusion. Each glass fin weighed up to 800 kg.
  The vertical columns supporting the roof were kept relatively narrow by designing a thick steel tube filled with concrete to serve as the wall. This was achieved by setting the columns in place and then having a cement slurry poured inside to stiffen them. The building's air-conditioning units had to be out of view of visitors for aesthetic reasons and a vent system has been designed that encompasses the entire perimeter of the building which brings cool air through hidden grilles between the glass.
  The 1001-seat auditorium's interior is clad with acoustically deafened Canadian Elmwood, which was meant to give visitors the impression of being on a Dhow. In fact, the 1001 seats symbolically represent the Thousand and One Arabian Nights. The seats face an 18 metres (59 ft) long stage in a raked seating method that was designed to improve the viewpoint for the audience. The forestage and proscenium, which covers an area of 19,000m x 10,500m, of the stage were specially modified to present a variety of different methods of staging, with the orchestra pit lying on top of  Serapid LinkLift Systems to alter the size of the stage and auditorium. The Orchestra Pit Lift is made up of two halves for versatility. A seating wagon can be moved manually to fill the orchestra pit to enlarge the auditoriums capacity.  The 150-seat studio theatre has dual purposes and can be used to host conferences and rehearsals as well as serving as a small theatre, with different seating arrangements and staging configurations. These seats and configurations can be transported around using a retractable seating unit and a demountable platform system where configurations can be constructed from a ready-made kit.
caption: View of the theatre and a dhow from Muharraq island.
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