Damian Jay Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Hi All, Hopefully I'm in the right subject for this post. I've just started on a project that I have wanted to do for most of my life. The building of a working model theatre. While going to the effort of making a working scale (as far as is practical, some components cannot be made small enough) I want to get the details right as far as possible to make it realistic.So to that end I have completed researching most of my requirements. However auditorium seating has me a bit stumped. I can find various sites offering 'guidance' yet their 'guidance' falls well short of being helpful. I have found a few sites that have a bit more helpful information while still being a little vague. For instance (from this website: http://www.theatreso...seating-layout/I have a guideline of ' For early planning, an average of 7.5 sq ft. per person may be used.' But, plonking empty boxes on the plan won't give me an indication of a decent layout. I have to make a couple of rows in sections to get an accurate idea. This site does go on to cover a range of styles of seating layouts, and gives approximate seat dimensions in width from 18" to 24" but no depth. For my purposes I think I will opt for a size of 22" in width. For my proposed model I plan on having a proscenium arch theatre with one block of seating on the stalls level, and a smaller set of seating in a balcony. I'm not planning any curves for the balcony or stalls seating. Imagine a long but not very wide room and you'll get the idea. So, my questions to the community are: 1 - What are the current UK regs on aisle widths next to a solid wall? My research suggests a minimum of 4 ft from wall to chair 2 - What are the regs on aisle widths between blocks of seating? My research suggests a minimum of 5 ft 3 - How many seats can I have in single row with an aisle adjacent to a wall on each side of the block? My research indicates I can have up to a travel distance of 28 chairs from either end (I read something like that on a BR topic just now but can't find the page to link to now. Will have a look through my history and add an edit with the link if I can find it later) 4 - How many seats can I have in a single row with seat adjacent to a wall and and aisle between seating blocks at the other end? I haven't found any info on this, but looking at various theatre seating plans online I have seen between 6 and 8 seats is common. 5 - How many rows of seats can I have before I have to put a horizontal (That may not be the correct terminology) Aisle in, and what are the regs on it's width? My research indicates that a aisle must be placed between blocks of either 10 rows or 15 rows. Based on the central aisle dimensions, I'm thinking 5 ft would be the minimum here? 6 - What is the average distance from the seats folded down (ready to sit on) position and the top of the row in fronts backrest? I have found a dimension of 36" which is taken from the seat front to the middle of the row in fronts backrest. Can anyone shed light on this please? In relation to the placement of the seating vertically, I aim to put each row of seating on it's own step / riser / platform that runs the width of the auditorium. I hope that part makes sense. Are there any guidelines available for the dimensions of the height of each 'step' a row should be placed on? I will say that in all my trips to various venues I have never once stopped and thought about any of this. I do seem to remember that to get to each row there were maybe one or two steps down. Can anyone clarify this? Finally, thank you for your time in reading this and for any help, guidance or resources you are able to provide. Damian Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Pretty much the single source for these things, that most of us have a copy of is the ABTT Yellow Booklink hereIt details all the things you're likely to want to know - from the step heights to the number of loos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damian Jay Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 Pretty much the single source for these things, that most of us have a copy of is the ABTT Yellow Booklink hereIt details all the things you're likely to want to know - from the step heights to the number of loos! Thank you :-) I wonder if the local library will have a copy in its reference section. The price tag is a bit steep for my limited budget. Failing that would anyone have an old copy from a few years ago they wouldn't mind parting with ? *insert a cheeky grin here* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richb Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 will pm you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_h Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Scottish Government Guidance on most aspects of fire safety in Entertainment venues. The bit on seating starts on p98 of the pdf (p96 on the printed page numbers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damian Jay Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 Scottish Government Guidance on most aspects of fire safety in Entertainment venues. The bit on seating starts on p98 of the pdf (p96 on the printed page numbers). Thank You Mark. Muchly appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.