Nottingham Royal Concert Hall

The Royal Concert Hall in the English city of Nottingham, is part of the city's Royal Centre, which also incorporates the Victorian Theatre Royal. The Royal Concert Hall is owned by Nottingham City Council and its striking modern architecture has proved to be a city landmark right at the heart of Nottingham City Centre, opposite the more recently built The Cornerhouse complex.

The site of the Royal Concert Hall was previously the old 'Empire Palace of Varieties' designed and built in 1898 by Frank Matcham. The Empire closed for the last time in 1958 and was demolished for road-widening in 1969.

Designed by the Renton Howard Wood Levin Partnership (architects of the Sheffield Crucible Theatre), the hall cost £12 million to complete. The project's client was Nottingham City Council, who were ambitious to win acclaim for their hall as a first-rate local, national and international venue for concerts and conferences.

Work on the Royal Concert Hall began in 1980 and was completed in 1982, providing Nottingham with a contemporary 2,499-seater, state-of-the-art, air-conditioned auditorium complete with a highly versatile sound and lighting system. The first artist to perform there was Elton John in November 1982.

The architecture of the Hall

"... the architects have attempted to keep before them a clear set of sculptural intentions. The development of the design has involved the production of some forty models and the overriding concern with the three-dimentional and fluid......
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