My Space is an Unusual Shape. Will Retractable Seating Work?
Retractable Seating does not have to be just a simple block. All sorts of accommodations and design tweaks can be made to help a retractable seating system fit your space. Here we look at some designs for spaces which are wide, long or low. We also look at solutions for spaces with tricky doorways and obstacles – so often an issue when you’re retrofitting retractable seating into an existing room.
Wide spaces
In wider spaces, an important consideration is creating comfortable sightlines. The closer you get to the edge of the seating bank, the more compromised the sight line may be, and the greater the risk of sore necks! The solution for this may be a faceted or curved retractable unit, shaped to ensure that the whole audience is comfortably orientated towards the stage.
A gently faceted retractable unit, which turns inwards at the edges. This all opens using a single controller.
Long Spaces
In a long space, you might want to store your retractable seating against a back wall but bring the audience a little closer to the stage. A travelling unit may work here, which allows you to drive the closed platforms forward using a power controller before opening them. You could also use this option if you sometimes want to create a larger auditorium with the retractable tiered seating pushed back and removable seating in front.
We created a great example of this in a very long space (a converted church) at Landmark Arts Centre. This is also an illustration of fitting retractable into a VERY tight space! You can see the full case study here.
Landmark Arts Centre. Here the seating is against the back wall, but it can also be driven forwards. When in place, the seating unit also forms a partition, allowing other activities to take place behind the auditorium.
Low Spaces
There are several solutions for fitting raked retractable seating into a space with a low ceiling or balcony.
A double row depth retractable system offers two rows of seats per retractable platform, potentially doubling the seating capacity. To improve the view, the seating can be staggered, or the rear row of seating on each platform can be slightly raised.
A ‘Double Row Depth’ retractable system at Lister Community School with seats staggered to improve sightlines.
A Double Row Depth retractable system with raised rear rows.
A low rise retractable platform is also an option. Although chairs can’t be stored on the platforms, removable chairs can be supplied in groups to make the set up process as quick as possible.
In this example of a low rise retractable seating system at The Roundhouse in London, the platforms have folding sockets, and the groups of seats are simply slotted in. Note also how the seating blocks are divided to accommodate the Roundhouse’s famous columns.
Difficult Doorways
Doorway to the Rear
A classic perceived obstacle to installing retractable seating is the location of entranceways. In particular, an entrance doorway at the back of the room, right where the platforms will be stored! One solution is to design the retractable unit with a ‘vomitory’ walkway right through the seating. Audience Systems will carefully design the seating so that the rows above the vomitory are fully supported, and panelling can create a solid feel to your walkway.
This retractable seating system at Martiniplaza in Groningen, Netherlands can be fully extended or truncated to support different court sizes. The vomitory opening functions within both layouts.
Doorway to the Side
Again, this is often an issue when the space was not initially designed for retractable seating. A side doorway beside the seating means there needs to be a walkway. This may mean losing around 3 seats from every row. A good compromise, if the doorway location cannot be moved, is a side cutout. At this example at Shelley College, the seating can span the full width of the room up until the doorway location.
Other Obstacles
There are all sorts of other obstacles which might fall within the retractable seating area. Here are just a few examples of how we have overcome these.
Maha Bodhi School, Singapore. An extra tall retractable system shaped around a control room.
The Studio, Sydney Opera House. The small section on the left hand side of the seating unit (as we look at it here) can be removed, as for some events, access to the door behind that section is required. Once joined, the two sections can be driven forward together to clear the underside of the balcony, and open as one.
Wigan and Leigh College. An example of a very small obstacle that could nevertheless force the seating bank forwards in a tight room! We shaped the rear platform of the retractable unit to accommodate this column.
AO Arena Manchester. This corner area sometimes needs to serve as a walkway. When it doesn’t, these mobile tapered (wedge-shaped) retractable units can be brought in to maximise capacity.
United World College, Dover, Singapore. Seating fits around the shape of the balcony.
