The building’s design was derived from the
great ballrooms and music pavilions of Imperial Europe allied
with the traditions of the British Theatre movement which
was then at its peak. The Kursaal was a truly multi-purpose
building. It’s inherent flexibility allowed it to be
used for concerts, social gatherings and tea-dances during
the day and for music hall, burlesque and glittering balls
at night.
One of the Kursaal’s unique features was
its 360° ‘circulatory ambulatory’ which provided
a place for visitors to gather as they engaged in the social
intercourse so popular of the time. Alternatively, members
of the audience could enjoy a brief respite from what was
happening on stage to take a light stroll completely around
the auditorium thus fulfilling the third pillar of the spa
experience – ‘taking the waters’; entertainment
and exercise!
Matcham’s genius was manifest in
many ways. The weight of the upper balcony was taken by two
hollow pillars which, together with the use of the basement
areas as a plenum cooling chamber, provided a natural and efficient
air conditioning system for the auditorium with the minimum
use of supporting machinery – an early example of energy
conservation by the application of brain power!
Yet another ingenious feature incorporated
by Matcham was the mechanical system for rapidly clearing
the auditorium seats into a hidden store so as to provide
a flat floor for dancing or other social entertainment. This
gives the building enormous flexibility and is one of the
features that sets the Kursaal apart from other types of
conventional theatre design with their raked and fixed seating
arrangements.
The Royal Hall also marked a major milestone
in theatre design by incorporating one of the earliest uses
of cantilever construction principles to support upper floors
rather than using a plethora of pillars for the purpose.
Harrogate’s Kursaal is the only
one built by Matcham, and it represents a unique example
of this particular genre of theatre design. |
