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Monday, September 11, 2023
Several UK theatres close due to concerns over crumbling concrete
Theatre | The Guardian: Theatres across the UK have joined the dozens of schools forced to close or partly close due to concerns over crumbling concrete, reigniting fears over cultural institutions’ post-lockdown survival.
Several theaters in the UK have had to close after concerns of crumbling concrete. A type of concrete called RAAC that has been used in structural applications, despite its lighter weight and propensity for crumbling. The thing you don’t want in your concrete is a propensity for crumbling. RAAC, otherwise known as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (referring to its methods of creation) is a lightweight concrete used in mostly flat roofing from 1950-1990. An aerated structure means that there are small air bubbles in it, decreasing both its weight and lifespan. RAAC’s 30 year lifespan means the “lease” so to speak is now leading to the structural collapse of many roofs in the UK. A lot of older theaters in the UK use this building material, so they’re also being forced to close with little to no notice. This just goes to show how important building management and upkeep are, as well as taking consideration in its construction. Many theaters are very old, and so are retrofitted instead of being built to be future proof. It’s hard to predict the future, but theaters and building managers can surely try. Maybe don’t use 30 year lifespan concrete in structural applications as a start.
So much in the recent years could not have been predicted and damaged and cracking foundations in theatres in the United Kingdoms is one of those things. This feels like a test that we will pass (or fail) as a community when determining how important the arts are to the culture as we know it. I can evasion a community without theatre and without the arts. This would be a different discussion if this was a medical building. Of course, I am not comparing the importance of the arts to the medical field but for some the arts is a way of survival. It is their outlet and theatres become such a staple to communities. It brings light to the world and new ideas and conversations to those who attend and then the message spreads. Circling back, it will be a test to see if this community rallies around the arts to preserve the theatres, or as much as they can of the history that was created inside.
This is honestly extremely sad to hear about. I know that it is important that the building is up to code, and that everyone remains safe, however this closing causes disruption. When a building is suddenly closed for an indefinite amount of time, it is devastating to those in the community who interact with that building. This not only applies to theaters, but honestly anywhere. However, specifically in this case, the theater's closing is very sad. People lose their jobs, their art, their opportunities to grow, and their opportunities to enrich themselves. Since theater is a large part of my life I would be really sad if I had to step away due to the space closing. It would displace my life, my flow of work, and my source of income. I hope that the buildings eventually re-open and they learn to move past the hard hits that they have been dealt with.
I can see how this is a very sudden change for many school theatres across the UK because it really does sound like the decision to close came very out of the blue. Of course, this sudden closing is likely to impact the theatres in a negative way since no one was really prepared for a loss of income (even post-pandemic). As the article mentions, I'd like to know if there is any more detailed planning as to how these theatres will be reimbursed or compensated. However, I’m still glad that they caught the flaw early enough because I think the safety of the children and everyone working there is much more important. There was an incident in China a couple of months ago, where a school gym collapsed during the day when the students were training. Many students passed away in that tragic event, and it was all because of the lack of supervision from the school. I genuinely hope that things like this don’t happen again.
4 comments:
Several theaters in the UK have had to close after concerns of crumbling concrete. A type of concrete called RAAC that has been used in structural applications, despite its lighter weight and propensity for crumbling. The thing you don’t want in your concrete is a propensity for crumbling. RAAC, otherwise known as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (referring to its methods of creation) is a lightweight concrete used in mostly flat roofing from 1950-1990. An aerated structure means that there are small air bubbles in it, decreasing both its weight and lifespan. RAAC’s 30 year lifespan means the “lease” so to speak is now leading to the structural collapse of many roofs in the UK. A lot of older theaters in the UK use this building material, so they’re also being forced to close with little to no notice. This just goes to show how important building management and upkeep are, as well as taking consideration in its construction. Many theaters are very old, and so are retrofitted instead of being built to be future proof. It’s hard to predict the future, but theaters and building managers can surely try. Maybe don’t use 30 year lifespan concrete in structural applications as a start.
So much in the recent years could not have been predicted and damaged and cracking foundations in theatres in the United Kingdoms is one of those things. This feels like a test that we will pass (or fail) as a community when determining how important the arts are to the culture as we know it. I can evasion a community without theatre and without the arts. This would be a different discussion if this was a medical building. Of course, I am not comparing the importance of the arts to the medical field but for some the arts is a way of survival. It is their outlet and theatres become such a staple to communities. It brings light to the world and new ideas and conversations to those who attend and then the message spreads. Circling back, it will be a test to see if this community rallies around the arts to preserve the theatres, or as much as they can of the history that was created inside.
This is honestly extremely sad to hear about. I know that it is important that the building is up to code, and that everyone remains safe, however this closing causes disruption. When a building is suddenly closed for an indefinite amount of time, it is devastating to those in the community who interact with that building. This not only applies to theaters, but honestly anywhere. However, specifically in this case, the theater's closing is very sad. People lose their jobs, their art, their opportunities to grow, and their opportunities to enrich themselves. Since theater is a large part of my life I would be really sad if I had to step away due to the space closing. It would displace my life, my flow of work, and my source of income. I hope that the buildings eventually re-open and they learn to move past the hard hits that they have been dealt with.
I can see how this is a very sudden change for many school theatres across the UK because it really does sound like the decision to close came very out of the blue. Of course, this sudden closing is likely to impact the theatres in a negative way since no one was really prepared for a loss of income (even post-pandemic). As the article mentions, I'd like to know if there is any more detailed planning as to how these theatres will be reimbursed or compensated. However, I’m still glad that they caught the flaw early enough because I think the safety of the children and everyone working there is much more important. There was an incident in China a couple of months ago, where a school gym collapsed during the day when the students were training. Many students passed away in that tragic event, and it was all because of the lack of supervision from the school. I genuinely hope that things like this don’t happen again.
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