"I am writing to say what a pleasure and privilege it was for us to give the first orchestral concert in the Apex. The Apex is 100 percent excellent acoustically and ideal for chamber music. I can say absolutely it is one of the best halls in which we have played anywhere in Europe.”
- Ambrose Miller, Director-General European Union Chamber Orchestra
The Apex
The pride of Bury St Edmunds, Apex is a finely detailed, 500-seat multi-use facility serving orchestral events, theater, dance, opera, touring rock, jazz, and even chess tournaments and boxing matches.
The venue is also surrounded by residential units. To keep Apex as the pride of Bury St Edmunds and not the bane of its neighbors, the whole facility is constructed as a separate building on its own foundation, embedded within a much larger mixed-use structure.
A thick, handmade brick wall holds up the roof and creates the enclosure, while voids in the walls provide ready-made paths for supply air and conduits, no ducts required. This ingenious approach also narrows the room acoustically and improves both structural and acoustic performance. Wool banners on rollers are tucked beneath the side galleries to further adapt the acoustics of the room to Apex’s unusually wide spectrum of events.
Seating wagons roll onto the orchestra lift and store in the basement allowing the orchestra level to accommodate standing audiences of 750, banquets of 300 people, or a chess tournament. Rigging concealed above the millwork ceiling can be used to fly drapery, including a proscenium, and to deploy lighting for theatrical and rock events.
Location
Bury St. Edmunds, England
Owner
St Edmundsbury Borough Council
Team
Acoustics - Threshold
Architect - Hopkins Architects Ltd.
Theatre Consultant - Carr & Angier
AV/Noise Control - Kirkegaard Associates
Size
4,000 square meters
Schedule
Completed 2010
Rigging concealed above the millwork ceiling can be used to fly drapery, including a proscenium, and to deploy lighting for theatrical and rock events. Wool banners on rollers tuck beneath the side galleries to adapt the acoustics of the room to Apex’s unusually wide spectrum of events.