Architect NOAHH faced a challenging task: designing the renovation of the Theater on the Parade in the Dutch city of Den Bosch. The new theatre had to be built on the historical foundations of the old building. Thanks to various spatial inventions, the new Theater on the Parade makes smart use of the limited space. The result is a theatre of the future; a multifunctional and irresistible cultural hub. This extrovert building does not stop at the façade, but extends into the public spaces and moves with its users. An inviting theatre café and a botanical foyer transparently connect the interior with the Parade. For the design of the botanical foyer, NOAHH was inspired by the historic Casino garden, dating from 1860. They managed to capture this feeling through the application of a lush SemperGreenwall Indoor. On Friday 1 March 2024, the new Theatre on the Parade was officially opened by the Dutch King Willem Alexander.
Sustainable design with a strong focus on circularity
The old theatre closed its doors in 2020 to make way for a brand-new building. The design of this new theatre was developed with great attention to circularity, focusing on circularity through the reuse of parts. For instance, the basement and supporting structure of the original Great Hall were retained and given a new, elegant cladding in textural white. This historic hall thus retains its valued intimacy, but now also exudes a sense of grandeur. The new theatre offers numerous possibilities for use thanks to the flexible halls and foyers that are interconnected. This ensures visible interaction, natural light, views of the surroundings and a comprehensive theatre experience. The botanical foyer was named ‘Garden Room’. This green lung of the theatre features green facades divided into three surfaces. The SemperGreenwall Indoor has been awarded Cradle-to-Cradle certification, which means that the raw materials used can be infinitely reused or serve as ‘food’ for new products.
An image of the historic Casino Garden, on which NOAHH inspired the design of the Garden Room
Monumental building of the future
Theatre on the Parade aims to be a low-threshold cultural facility where everyone in the city can become acquainted with art and culture in the broadest sense of the word. The theatre is an inclusive and accessible building that can be used intensively 24/7. Den Bosch’s architecture committee praised the new theatre as a monument-worthy building of the future.