New Yard theatre building in east London is built from reused and recycled materials

A new building for the Yard theatre has opened in Hackney Wick, east London, close to the park built for the 2012 Olympics. It cost £4m and replaces the original venue, which operated on the same site from 2011. Actor Ian McKellen is due to appear in the next production.

A crane turned ventilation shaft

The building's most distinctive feature is a former crane tower, now wrapped in polycarbonate. It serves both as a beacon, carrying the theatre's name in big red letters, and as a ventilation shaft that expels stale air from the auditorium. The façade also uses bricks made in Scotland that are unfired and consist of 95% construction waste. This recycled 16 tonnes of waste that would otherwise have gone to landfill and avoided emissions equal to 3.5 tonnes of CO2.

Funding and architecture

Founder and artistic director Jay Miller secured the first space, in a former printworks, on a cheap lease. When a redevelopment of the surrounding Queen's Yard was proposed, he raised £3m in Community Infrastructure Levy funding from the London Legacy Development Corporation, the post-Olympic regeneration body. The redevelopment never went ahead, but the money was awarded.

The architect is Takero Shimazaki, a Tokyo-born Londoner shortlisted for the Stirling prize last year. He says the form was inspired by Palladian churches, to give a sense of permanence. The walls are clad in corrugated fibre-cement sheeting.

Interior and auditorium

The foyer and café use burgundy, blue and green tones, while the toilets take their cue from the bathroom at Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan. The new auditorium seats 250, more than double the old theatre. It keeps the bare, raw character of the original, with a concrete stage and raked, amphitheatre-style seating. Performers now have dressing rooms beneath the seats.

Offices in the neighbouring warehouse are being converted into a youth hub by artist Jeremy Deller and local schoolchildren.