Becketwell Performance Venue Derby, UK
Corstorphine & Wright have been appointed on Phase 2 of the Becketwell Masterplan which features a 3,500 capacity performance venue. The Derby city centre masterplan, for developer SJS, has been in development since 2017.
This follows Corstorphine & Wright’s appointment to deliver the first phase, a 259 apartment BtR scheme for Grainger, started on site in April 2021. The masterplan was designed with flexibility in mind, to enable a wide range of opportunities to be taken advantage of.
The brief was for an innovative venue layout which featured mobile bleacher seating that could be parked in recessed storage to allow the event floor to be opened-up to the concourse and F&B at the rear. Taking a lead from the configuration of spaces set out by IPW… and their venue planners, C&W turned this into a narrative that fitted the constrained location and worked with the masterplan. This included opting for an asymmetric frontage with the principal entrance on the corner facing the public square and city centre.
Adjustments were made to the distribution of seating to optimise the space used for the standing area versus the fully seated configuration.
The balcony was moved closer to the stage, reducing the number of loose seats on the floor where sight-lines are challenging and increasing the number on the balcony where sight-lines are more optimal.
