A multi-purpose performance space, designed by Tony Rastrick of Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall and Partners and built between 1974 and 1979 as part of the Civic Precinct for Reading.

The Hexagon, Reading, built between 1974-1979, is not listed for the following principal reasons:

Degree of Architectural interest: * Despite its interesting design, which is indebted to the Philharmonie hall in Berlin, and may also owe something to the paper designs of walking cities by Archigram, the building now lacks its original context as part of a related group of Civic Centre structures designed by Sir R Matthew Johnson-Marshall & Partners;

* The design of internal areas such as the foyer have also been significantly altered by later alterations and additions.

Degree of Historical interest: * The Hexagon had some interest as one of the first buildings in Britain to use the system of Acoustic Resonance as a compensatory device for the wide variety of activities in the hall. However, the efficacy of the system was always in doubt and it was removed from the hall in the 1980s;

* The hall also stands as an example of an arts venue which was adaptable to a number of uses, which was desirable in the 1970s, but there are better examples such as The Crucible, Sheffield, listed at Grade II.

Group value: * The Hexagon is close to several listed buildings, including Roxborough House and Kent House, Howard Street (both Grade II) and The Sun Inn (Grade II) and the Church of St Mary (II*), Castle Street, but this is not sufficient to outweigh the lack of architectural or historic interest.

The Civic Precinct in Reading was planned in 1962 in connection with the ring road and realised to a much-revised plan in the 1970s by Sir R Mathew Johnson-Marshall & Partners. At the core was The Civic Centre, built between 1971 and 1976 as a series of eight hexagons set at slightly different heights. The multi-purpose entertainment space known as The Hexagon was a part of this grouping, built between 1974 and 1979, and the architect in charge was Tony Rastrick. The brief from Reading Council was to produce a multi-purpose hall which would serve as a ‘centre’ for Reading and be useable by the maximum number of people for the greatest variety of activities. The resultant design catered for a variety of seating formats ranging from a formal proscenium arched stage and auditorium arrangement, to theatre in the round, or a boxing ring with seating on all sides, or a concert hall, or a cinema. 1,500 could be seated when used as a meeting hall, up to 1498 for concerts and 575 for theatre in the round. The adaptability was achieved by installing banks of retractable seating on the eastern side of the auditorium which accounted for 218 seats, and this allowed for the creation of a flat, floored area at the centre when required. The necessary engineering also involved platform lifts to raise and lower floor heights and screens to create the impression of a proscenium arch, as well as an ‘assisted resonance’ system that was needed to control the varied types of reverberation for different activities, ranging from music to the spoken word. The chosen system was of a type previously used successfully at the Festival Hall on London’s South Bank to cure the ‘dry’ acoustic there. The structure was built by Bovis Construction and the cost was slightly more than £3.5m.

The box ofice was moved to the foyer area in the 1980s and the Assisted Resonance system was also removed from the building in the 1980s. The building underwent an extensive programme of redecoration in the 1990s including foyer and bar areas. Further work to convert backstage areas took place in 2017-2018.

The civic offices, and walkways which connected the offices to the rest of this civic area, have recently been demolished (April 2021).

A multi-purpose performance space, designed by Tony Rastrick of Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall and Partners and built between 1974 and 1979 as part of the Civic Precinct for Reading.

MATERIALS & PLAN: Pre-cast concrete, brown brick, laid in stretcher bond and lead-clad roofing. The inclusion of foyer spaces to the east results in an elongated hexagonal shape to the building overall. The auditorium allows for seating around the adaptable central space. Public circulation beyond the auditorium is placed in the area on the eastern side, below the raked seating of the balcony and extending east from there. This is divided into three floors; at ground floor level are two lateral entrances, a bar and lavatories. Above this are the foyer and the ticket office entered from the raised external walkway, which is common to the buildings of the Civic Centre. The upper foyer has a further cafe and bar. The mezzanine is accessed by stairs to a central walkway and three levels of foyer space are connected by a central imperial staircase (rising in one broad flight and returning in two). At the top of the building, to the rear of the auditorium, is a control room for lighting and, formerly, the ‘assisted resonance’ system. The ground floor foyer area continues around the hall and dressing rooms lead off this at the sides and back of the stage area. The rehearsal room (Vachel Room) can also be subdivided to allow male and female group dressing rooms.

EXTERIOR: the hexagonal shape of the building is marked externally by prominent, Y-shaped, raking buttresses at each angle. The pre-cast concrete beams which form the buttress extend across the sloping roof and end at a ring beam at the crest of the roof. This arrangement forms a sheltering carapace over the building which defines its extent and indicates the shape of the interior space. Below this prominent roof, the lower floors are generally recessed beneath the oversailing eaves and have brown brick or plate glass walling. The exceptions are the concrete external fire escape staircases along the northern and southern sides and the brick-walled extensions to the north-western side which house the Waterhouse Room, Brunel Room and Studio and set store and loading bay, and the plant room to the west, both of which are single-storeyed and have brick walling with soldier courses to the top. The metal panelling which forms the door surround at the upper level, approached from the raised walkway, is painted red to emphasise this as the principal entrance.

INTERIOR: the auditorium has the adaptable floor space at the centre of its lowest level. Retractable tiers of seating can be stored in a space to the east. Above this is a balcony, divided into a series of five tiered projections, whose fronts project to different levels, frequently referred to as ‘vineyard terraces’, but sharing gangways and circulation passages to their rear. Further fixed seating is to the rear of the stage area where four tiers of chorus seating can be used for audience members or performers, according to the type of event. Mechanical raising and lowering of the stage area is also possible, as is the creation of an orchestra pit. The ceiling above the auditorium and to the slopes at its sides is made up of separated acoustic boards which are suspended from the inner roof. These hid the microphones and speakers of the assisted resonance system as well as the grid above the stage. The roof itself has two layers, with a gap between which is wide enough to accommodate gantries for services and stage machinery, in the absence of a fly tower.

The other areas of the interior, including the lower and upper foyer and staircases exploit the possibilities of the powerful concrete forms that support the raked seating in the balconies. Many of the precast blocks and beams are exposed, as are large ducts with a circular section, which were originally brightly coloured, but have now been painted a stone colour. Staircases also run up through the foyer spaces and the overall effect is an interplay of straight lines and diagonals.