Sadler's Wells Dance Theatre

In Stratford, London, industrial heritage takes on a new form: a dance temple built in brick.

Modern and historic at once — or, better, timeless. That's what architects O'Donnell + Tuomey set out to achieve: a building that could sit in its context as if it had always been there, built to stand the test of time. Sadler's Wells, they say, "should have a sort of robustness, with materials that allow the building to age and wear with grace."

Brick made sense for another reason: in a neighbourhood dominated by glass and steel, what other material could set the building apart while still speaking the area's own construction language?
The façade pairs our Selmo bricks with SK1N tiles, fired from the same clay for a genuine sense of cohesion and solidity. Both were purpose-made to fit the building's specific details — closer to bespoke elements than an industrial product.

The masonry shifts between massive and delicate. Stepped, perforated, incised, angled. At one point, steel takes over, forming long suspended brise-soleil that keep the line between walls and roof clean and uninterrupted.

None of this would have been possible without our approach to terracotta. The Smoked range brought a contemporary dimension to the clay; the SK1N system, used here as a continuous façade, employs cotto elements to build a dynamic surface marked by horizontal lines.
So, even standing still, the façade never stops moving.