The Court Theatre
Marking a triumphant return to the heart of Christchurch, the new Court Theatre is a landmark cultural facility re-establishing a permanent home for the city’s beloved theatre company.
A collaboration between internationally renowned theatre specialists Haworth Tompkins and New Zealand’s Athfield Architects, the state-of-the-art building is designed around a core goal: to provide an intimate space where the connection between performer and the audience is immediate and powerful.
The acoustics are fundamental to this vision, creating an environment of warmth, and speech clarity that supports the natural voice, often without the need for amplification.
CLIENT
Athfield Architects
LOCATION
Christchurch, NZ
COMPLETED
2025
Photos
Simon Devitt Photography
Our Scope
MDA provided full acoustic design services from the initial concept design through to final commissioning for the facility, including the 379-seat Stewart Family Theatre and the 130-seat Wakefield Family studio.
We undertook detailed acoustic modelling of the performance spaces to develop the pallet of sound absorbing and reflecting interior finishes with Athfield Architects and the result is excellent speech intelligibility in the performance spaces. The air conditioning incorporated appropriately specified noise control features ensure the building’s essential systems remained inaudible.
CHALLENGES
A key design challenge was controlling sound transfer into the noise-sensitive performance spaces from the adjacent high-noise woodworking shop and rehearsal areas. This required innovative modelling techniques for both airborne and structure-borne sound transmission, resulting in lightweight floating floor solutions that avoided excessive structural and seismic costs.
Also, the building’s air-conditioning systems needed to operate silently. To achieve the very low background noise levels required for dramatic performance, we worked closely with Stantec, the mechanical services engineer, to design a specialised ventilation system using large, slow-moving air ducts and carefully selected quiet equipment.
“We had devoted this huge amount of time and effort to create this space ... I was simply overcome by the incredible relationship between the audience and what was happening on stage, and the crystal clear acoustics were spectacular.”
PROJECT TEAM
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