Roundhouse, Performing arts center in Chalk Farm, London, England
Roundhouse is a performing arts centre in Chalk Farm, London, occupying a former railway building with a circular plan. Cast-iron columns in Doric style support the pointed roof and surround the open interior space used for concerts and theatre performances.
Robert Stephenson designed the building in 1847 as an engine shed for the London & Birmingham Railway with a turntable for maintaining steam locomotives. Its use as a railway facility ended some decades later before conversion into a performance hall began.
The building takes its name from the circular plan of the former engine shed and now serves as a gathering place for music and performing arts. Young creators use the rooms for workshops and rehearsals while visitors attend concerts and theatre pieces.
The interior provides space for standing and seated audiences, with acoustics shaped by the circular form and high ceiling. Visitors can reach the site through several entrances and find rooms suited to different event formats.
The arrangement of cast-iron columns still follows the original plan for the locomotive turntable and forms concentric circles around the centre of the hall. This railway-era construction creates sightlines that remain during modern performances.
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