The Eastgate Centre occupies a former church building constructed in 1871 in the centre of Peebles.
The project accommodates an arts centre for the town, made up of a 250 seat auditorium, together with a rehearsal room (doubling as an exhibition space), the necessary ancillary accommodation of green room, changing rooms for artists, a small catering facility and cafe/bar and offices.
The design has been developed on the strong belief that the presence of the theatre should be evident from the exterior rather than simply discovered on the inside of an otherwise unchanged church exterior. The main 'ecclesiastical'; gothic facade remains virtually untouched but rather the side elevation is completely removed and substituted by a completely new entrance elevation displaying the theatre within. In this way the developing history of the building can be understood and both eras of its construction can sit in creative juxtaposition with each other.
Internally the theatre sits at first floor and is broadly proscenium with a degree of flexibility. The route to the theatre is visible through the facade and a fire escape triples as a porter bollard and the support for a new glazed canopy.
The project started on site in September 2002 and was completed in March 2004.
| Architects | Richard Murphy, Matt Bremner (Project Architect), Tim Bayman, Peter Guthrie, David Morris, James Taylor, Patrick Fallis |
| Engineers | Wardell Armstrong Laird Menzies, Edinburgh |
| M&E Engineers | Buro Happold, Glasgow |
| Quantity Surveyor | Ross & Morton, Edinburgh |
| Planning Supervisor | Ross & Morton, Edinburgh |
| Acoustic Consultant | Sandy Brown Associates, Edinburgh |
| Theatre Consultant | John Stone, Coldstream, Berwickshire |
| Contractor | Reywood Construction, East Lothian |
| Construction Cost | £2m |
| Client | Borders 1996 Company Limited |
Awards
- Scottish Enterprise Dynamic Place Awards Commendation 2005
Press
| Curtain Goes Up On Eastgate Theatre Plans | Peebleshire News | - |
| D-day For Arts Centre | Peebleshire News | - |
| New Borders Venue Lures Fringe Artists | The Scotsman | 8 April 2004 |
| Religious Conversion - Murphy's Arts In Church | Architects' Journal | 6 May 2004 |
| Designs On Scotland's New Look - Rias Awards Shortlist 2004 | The Scotsman | 22 September 2004 |
| Rias: Client Interest Is Key To Competitions | Letters Page - Aj | October 2004 |
| Top Prize Cements Scots Success Storey - Rias Awards | The Scotsman | 29 October 2004 |
| Eastgate Pointed In The Right Direction | Scotland On Sunday | 19 December 2004 |
| Eastgate Theatre And Arts Centre | Riba Sport And Leisure Sector Review | 2005 |
| Murphy Gets Nod | Project Scotland | October 1999 |
| Eastgate Theatre Plans Take Step Forward | Peebleshire News | October 1999 |
