OUR ESTATE
The National Theatre is a Grade 2* listed building and perhaps the UK’s pre-eminent 20th-century example of Brutalist architecture, using a limited material palette used to maximum architectural effect. The primary material elements are the concrete structural members – walls, columns, balustrades and parapets. A crucial and innovative part of the structural design is the use of post- tensioning technology, which was used to reduce movement and cracking and to provide adequate strength within constricted parts of the structural envelope. Parapets and balustrades are all in-situ post-tensioned construction, and the stability of the entire stratified administration wing is reliant upon the main body of the building through post-tensioning. The concrete was almost entirely cast in-situ with an extremely high level of workmanship. The most striking treatment of the concrete is the board- marking used throughout the front of house areas internally and externally – whose horizontally textured surface is contrasted with the smooth finish of the coffered soffits. A pale grey calcium silicate brick is used to differentiate the structure of the back of house workshops, which house one of the largest remaining factories in central London.
The building has a floor coverage of over 57,000 sq.m. with a basement car park, substantial public foyer spaces, three auditoria, rehearsal rooms, office spaces and a complex of backstage spaces for technical resources and support areas, alongside costume making and construction workshops. All designed to make the NT self- sufficient in the theatre making process. The last major refurbishment, NT Future, completed in 2016 was designed by Haworth Tompkins Architects, following the 2009 Conservation Management Plan, which sets out conservation principles and guidance for any changes to the building.
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