The Jellyfish Theatre opens today with an eco-themed play called Oikos (pronounced “ee-kos”, the Greek root for economy and ecology) by Simon Wu. The piece will be followed by Protozoa by Kay Adshead. Both plays deal with people rebuilding their lives after an environmental and political catastrophe, which goes along nicely with a building constructed out of found materials. The project is a bit of a warning against uncertain times and even an example of what we might have to resort to for future architecture.
Over 800 shipping pallets and 750 sq meters of plywood and other material were donated to construct the theatre. Old-school furniture serves as the seats inside the auditorium, and reused five-gallon water jugs are stacked together to form the wall of the lounge. Pallets, which came from the nearby Covent Gardent market, were stacked and hung vertically, while plywood covers the walls, roof and floors. Although the materials may have started out as junk, when you reuse them, they are no longer junk – they become useful building materials.
The idea for the recycled pallet theatre sprung from the minds of the Red Room’s artistic director, Topher Campbell, and its producer, Bryan Savery two years ago. Martin Kaltwasser and his wife, Folke Köbberling were brought on to design and construct the theatre, which followed a loosely-definied plan was largely constructed on-the-fly according to whatever materials were available. Volunteer architects, builders and other members of the nearby community have put in over 4,200 hours of work since they started construction nine weeks ago. Although we’ve seen plans for shipping pallet theaters before, the Jellyfish Theatre is the first to be built.
Today London saw the opening of the Jellyfish Theatre, a remarkable new performance venue made entirely from donated, free and recycled materials. Reused shipping pallets, recycled nails, old school furniture, and donated wood scraps have been used to a
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The theatre was constructed from donated and found materials including recycled nails, reused shipping pallets, old school furniture, scrap wood and water bottles.
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The theatre opens today with a brand new eco themed play called Oikos (pronounced “ee-kos”, the Greek root for economy and ecology) by Simon Wu.
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The Jellyfish Theatre is only temporary — at the end of its life it will be dismantled and recycled.
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Construction of the theatre took over nine weeks with the help of 81 volunteers, who logged in 4,200 hours of volunteer work.
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The theatre’s interior has room for 120 seats, some of which are old school chairs.
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800 pallets from the nearby Covet Garden Market were donated as well as 750 square meters of plywood and other sheet material.
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Both of the plays that will take place inside the theatre are about how people deal with their lives after a political and environmental catastrophe.
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The building suggests ways that we can better use our resources for architecture, and even offers a look into how we might be forced to build in the future.
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Martin Kaltwasser and Folke Köbberling designed the structure and have also helped in directing the plays. The producers of the play have largely been involved in the construction of the theatre.
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Here water bottles are stacked to form a wall around the lounge area outside the main theatre room.
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Workshops were held during the construction to teach about reuse. This workshop took old water bottles and transformed them into planters.
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The supporting structure for the theatre is a network of steel scaffolding, which gives it a good sturdy base.
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This diagram gives the basic layout of the theatre, although rigid construction documents didn’t dictate the building’s construction.
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