Menier Chocolate Factory, London
When local developer Don Riley saw the opportunity for a restaurant/theatre/gallery complex within the old Menier Chocolate Factory on Southwark Street, he invited us to work with him to design a suitable scheme. The restaurant here becomes the public front of the theatre, encouraging patrons to eat as well as see a play. The spaces are kept deliberately simple: a lofty warehouse with blasted brick walls and beams for the restaurant, and a simple box, allowing great flexibility in productions, for the theatre. The theatre is a great success: many of its shows have transferred for West End and Broadway runs, and it has contributed to the regeneration of the Bankside area.