Ruskin Lane Consulting Autumn 2013 | Page 25

FEATURES PROJECTS removal of the upper balcony area. This allowed the upper circle to be extended back and its rake altered to form an enlarged upper circle. The intention was to improve the sight lines, which although partly successful, has resulted in the rear section of this area feeling somewhat detached from the rest of the auditorium. In 1969 the building was bought by the City of Edinburgh Council. They continued to run it as a theatre, but by the 1980s the building was again in need of further work. In 1985 it underwent an eight month refurbishment programme. This included replacing all the seats with new tip-up seats in a cinema or ‘Pullman’ style. Sight lines were further adjusted, and the central aisle in the stalls was removed and replaced with two side aisles. The orchestra pit was enlarged, and the Viennese baroque auditorium was restored to its original colour scheme. The dome in the centre was repainted with a new design based on the four seasons, and externally some stonework repairs were carried out. The King’s continued to be well used, especially during the pantomime season, when upwards of 80,000 visitors came to performances. This extensive patronage began to take its toll on the building and by the turn of this century it was evident that a further major refurbishment was required. In 2010, the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) appointed Smith Scott Mullan Associates to undertake a £2million refurbishment of the building. This was joint funded by CEC, Historic Scotland and The Nancie Massey Trust. Their brief was based on undertaking essential fabric repairs, along with improving access and general visitor experience. The running of the theatre is undertaken by Festival City Theatres Trust (FCTT), who has a lease agreement with the council. Their input was vital in relation to prioritising works within the relatively small budget. There had been a number of previous proposed projects prepared on the building, none of which had been realised. We reviewed these and proposed a scope of works that would address all the main issues. These included a full roof replacement with insulation, extensive stonework repairs, refurbishment of windows and doors, formation of a new box office with level access to the foyer, installation of a platform lift to the rear of the stalls, redecoration of the foyer, and installation of new seats to the stalls and dress circle. The works had to be completed by the end of July AUTUMN 2013 I THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND I 25