Clyde Auditorium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Clyde Auditorium, familiarly known as "The Armadillo", is a concert and public event venue in Glasgow, Scotland. The building sits on the site of the Queen's Dock of the River Clyde, adjacent to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.
Plans for a new building to increase the capacity of the SECC complex were initiated in 1995. Designed by award-winning architects Foster and Partners, the 3,000 seat venue was completed in 1997, by which time it had earned its affectionate nickname due to the similarity of its shape to that of the animal of the same name. Many comparisons have been made with the Sydney Opera House, although this was not the architects' inspiration for the design, which was in fact an interlocking series of ship's hulls, in reference to the Clyde's shipbuilding heritage.
The building has quickly become one of the most recognisable on Clydeside and one of the images most associated with modern Glasgow. Its success has led to planning for a third venue on the complex, with the tentative title "Scotland's National Arena".
[edit] External links
- SECC web site
- Photographs of the (Armadillo) Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow
- Queen's Dock regeneration project
