A Theatre for the Performing Arts. Part 1 Project 2003 Anthony Hutchinson University of Technology Kingston | Jamaica A THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS - SAVANNA-LA-MAR, JAMAICA. This project is an exploration of the notion of thresholds and the dialogue between the inside and the outside. It seeks to utilize thresholds primarily to mark the journey from the outside to the inside. Inside, the theatre is the place where reflection, refraction and diffraction are used to debate or ridicule any topical issue. The space dedicated to the viewing of a performance is fundamentally a “black box.” The “black box” is volume of darkness, which seeks to package, highlight and sell the assets of the outside. Outside, the site is located on one of the edges of a proposed plaza. This plaza seeks to create a place of contemplation in contrast to 100m sprint urban street that borders it. The project tries to echo the plaza and serve as a counter to the street. The dialogue between the inside of the theatre and the outside is intended to be a journey that is clear and void of ambiguity. This is expressed by modulating the use of materials and the manipulation of space. The result is a hospitable transition from the incisive edge of the plaza to the sedate Black Box of enlightenment. The studio focused primarily on the creation of a cohesive centre to Savanna-la-mar, a small town in rural Jamaica. A public plaza was used to create this "centre". This plaza was subsequently bound by the civic programmes of Library, Courthouse, Theatre and Community Centre. The idea of the theatre as a sequence of thresholds and discoveries was developed from the experience of journeying from the proposed plaza through the site to its western boundary. These experiences became a theme that was methodologically analyzed and spatially reinterpreted in various media. The dialog between the programme and the spatial experience as it related to the theme was systematically resolved early. This provided more time to study light and materials, further developing the scheme. The scheme was particularly successful in its scale and massing as it related to the context of the proposed square and Savannah la Mar. The presentation was well composed and the various models and drawings were technically legible and spatially self-explanatory.