Arts centre to reinvigorate waterfront

A new £7.8M arts centre is under construction on the banks of the River Clyde at Greenock. Part of a wider redevelopment of former industrial land along the town’s waterfront, the project is due to be completed this summer.

Known as the Beacon Arts Centre Theatre, it will include a 500-seat main auditorium, a smaller 130 seat studio theatre, dressing rooms, rehearsal room and a cafe with views across the river.

Approximately 375t of structural steelwork has been erected for the project by Walter Watson. Predominantly a steel framed structure, the theatre walls are made of in-situ concrete, so acoustic isolation between the materials has been one of the project’s main design challenges.

“The job required us to design 100 complex acoustic structural steel to concrete connections requiring 800 individual acoustic units,” said Trevor Irvine, Walter Watson General Manager Structural Division.

Main contractor for the job is Graham Construction and the arts centre is jointly funded by Greenock Arts Guild, together with its project partners the Scottish Arts Council, Inverclyde Council, Riverside Inverclyde and the Big Lottery Fund.