Central Hall, University of York

Central Hall, University of York

Central lecture and recreation hall built between 1966 and 1968 by Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall & Partners (RMJM), with Stirrat Johnson-Marshall and Andrew Derbyshire as partners in charge, and John Speight as job architect.

The building is constructed in in-situ reinforced concrete, mild steel, mellow-red and blue brick, and aluminium. It is positioned roughly at the centre of Campus West on a stepped terrace of mellow-red and blue brick, surrounded by the campus lake on the north, west and south sides. The building has an irregular hexagonal plan with canted sides facing the lake and a straight side to the east. It comprises a large auditorium set above a smaller ground floor containing entrance and exhibition spaces.

The structure is of in-situ reinforced concrete with a suspended mild steel tubular roof clad in aluminium. The upper floors containing the auditorium are cantilevered out on the lake sides, with the structural members of the tubular roof exposed at the apex. A gallery and balcony runs around the building at first-floor level on the east side (now enclosed and subsumed into the building on this eastern side), rising to second-floor level on the lake sides. Wide external concrete stairs with tiled coverings are incorporated at the north-east and south-east corners, fitted with replaced aluminium fire doors. Ribbon windows on the inside wall of the second-floor balcony light the auditorium in the style of a clerestory, and double doors provide access to the uppermost auditorium seating. The ground floor is mainly glazed; the windows on the lake sides were originally timber and cantilevered inwards at the top, but have since been replaced by flush aluminium windows. Two glazed ground-floor projections at the north-west and south-west corners with mellow-red and blue-brick plinths contain stairs leading up to the auditorium. The main entrance on the eastern side is recessed underneath the upper floors and consists of a series of original timber glazed doors, with aluminium doors due to be installed. A canted lift shaft projection rises above the roofline on the east side opposite the main entrance.

The interior comprises a central entrance lobby flanked by stair lobbies with north and south stairs leading up to the first-floor auditorium. The central lobby opens into a large foyer overlooking the lake on the ground floor with a brick-paved floor that serves a dual function as an exhibition space. The foyer originally contained a central bar, now removed. Brick-paved stairs in the north-west and south-west corners lead up from the foyer to the auditorium. A caretaker's office on the north side of the foyer entrance with a canted corner has been removed and a reception desk is due to be installed. A correspondingly shaped former cleaner's store on the south side has also been removed and replaced with a new curved wall partition. Toilets are located alongside the bare-brick east wall of the foyer.

Above the main foyer is the auditorium, which has tiered seating for 1250 people on the canted sides of the building, arranged around a removable sectional stage and an orchestra pit cover. The exposed steel roof has moveable catwalks for maintenance and lighting. The seating is accessed by brick-paved stair flights and is retractable, enabling the space to be used for exhibitions and examinations when not in auditorium use. At the top of the seating tiers are doors leading out onto the second-floor wrap-around balcony. The east wall of the auditorium is of mellow-red and blue brick with a central rectangular proscenium opening, beyond which is the stage foyer. The stage foyer originally led out onto the external first-floor eastern balcony, now subsumed into the main building to create storage areas. Above the stage foyer and former east balcony on the second floor are dressing rooms, toilets, a rehearsal room, and an internal balcony overlooking the auditorium. Plant and storage rooms are located on the third floor above.