Haworth Tompkins’comprehensive renewal of a Grade II-listed theatre in North Wales reimagines a 1970s arts complicated as an open, accessible and low-carbon cultural center rooted in its rural setting. Photos Philip Vile, Mark Carline, Fred Howarth, Haworth Tompkins Haworth Tompkins has actually finished a major redevelopment of Theatr Clwyd, a Grade II-listed
theatre and cultural centre overlooking the town of Mold in North Wales. Initially opened in 1976 as the Clwyd Theatre and Educational Innovation Centre, the building was developed as a multi-purpose regional arts venue, combining efficiency areas with studios, galleries and community facilities. Almost fifty years on, the practice’s intervention reframes the sprawling 10,000 square metre complex as a more meaningful, accessible and technically capable civic location, while keeping the character of the initial structure. Set into a hillside with extensive views across the Clwydian landscape, the structure has always held a strong relationship with its environments. Haworth Tompkins’ redesign seeks to enhance this connection through the addition of a new three-storey glazed foyer on the south-west elevation. Organised around a central atrium, the extension forms a clear and welcoming entryway, replacing formerly fragmented points of access. Inside, a sequence of light-filled public spaces incorporates a café, restaurant and casual working areas, developed as a covered public square that extends the building’s use beyond performance times. Above: Website plan.Below: Ground floor through to 5th layout along with section drawings. The project resolves the limitations of the original plan, where blood circulation routes had ended up being complicated
and limiting.
A brand-new internal’ street ‘now goes through the building, linking auditoria, gallery areas
and public amenities in a more legible arrangement. Together with its 3 performance places, movie theater and occasion areas, the theatre now accommodates rehearsal rooms, studios, workshops and dedicated locations for neighborhood use. Back-of-house centers have been substantially improved, supporting a more integrated approach to theatre-making, including a brand-new picturesque workshop that allows production teams to work together on website for the very first time. Above: Before work started
. Left: After completion. A key element of the work carried out is a focus on better gain access to and inclusivity. Step-free routes have been introduced across all levels, supported by new lifts and improved auditorium designs that offer additional wheelchair seating. A Changing Places facility, sensory gardens and play areas extend the structure’s function as a civic resource, broadening its interest audiences of different ages and capabilities.
Above: The new entryway foyer after completion.Right: The foyer before work started.
Instead of pursuing wholesale replacement, the plan adopts a deep retrofit technique, maintaining much of the existing concrete frame and envelope. This approach reduces embodied carbon while allowing significant upgrades to ecological performance. Improvements to the building fabric are combined with passive style measures, updated services and the replacement of gas boilers with air source heatpump. On-site photovoltaics and a renewable energy tariff further contribute to functional decarbonisation.
The redevelopment has actually been formed by substantial assessment, with more than 22,000 actions notifying priorities around ease of access, sustainability and neighborhood use. Provided through a phased building and construction programme, the works allowed the theatre to remain functional throughout, preserving its role as a cultural anchor for the region.
“Theatr Clwyd has an extraordinary history as Wales’biggest producing theatre. Our ambition was to retain the spirit and character of the initial 1970s Grade II listed structure, while opening the developing to its spectacular rural landscape setting and to the neighborhood it serves,” stated Lucy Picardo, director at Haworth Tompkins.
“Working carefully with the theatre group, we have reimagined the structure as an inviting civic location– a place where making, discovering and common gathering sit alongside performance. The job has prioritised deep retrofit and cautious reuse of the existing structure with minimal extensions, decreasing embodied and operational carbon while introducing new areas that are light filled, accessible and convivial. It has actually been an opportunity to team up so carefully with Theatr Clwyd on a job that balances preservation, happiness, inclusivity and sustainability. The result is a restored theatre that celebrates its past while creating a technically capable and motivating setting for theatre-making long into the future.”
Completed in October 2025, the task coincides with the theatre’s fiftieth anniversary, marking a brand-new phase in its advancement.
“Theatr Clwyd has actually constantly been far more than a theatre– it is an innovative home for artists and an essential cultural center for neighborhoods across North Wales,” added Liam Evans-Ford, executive director and CEO at Theatr Clwyd.
“This transformation has actually been an extraordinary cooperation with Haworth Tompkins, whose deep understanding of theatre-making and generosity of method has shaped every aspect of the job. Together we have renewed the theatre to be more welcoming, accessible and motivating than ever before– a place where artists can produce ambitious work, where communities can collect and feel a sense of belonging, and where audiences can experience first-rate theatre in the heart of North Wales.”
Credits
Client
Theatr Clwyd & Flintshire County Council
Designer
Haworth Tompkins
Structural engineer
Betts Associates
Services engineer
Skelly & Sofa
Theatre and acoustic consultant
Charcoalblue
Task manager
Plann
Main professional
Gilbert Ash
Access expert
HADA
Fire specialist
OFR
Style consultancy
Studio 3 Sixty
Landscape design
Studio Bristow
Wayfinding specialist
Studio Mothership
BREEAM assessor
WYG/ Tetra Tech
Catering expert
Keith Winton Style
Dining establishment design
Rosendale Design
Art commissions
Frances Priest; Manon Awst; Sauda Imam; Jude Rogers, Catrin James and Studio Mothership; Huw Davies