Phase 1 of arts centre completed

The first phase of the Barbados National Performing Arts Centre has been completed.

Unveiled during CARIFESTA XV with a performance of the Ghanaian theatrical play Mansa Musa, the 35 000 squarefoot structure serves as a temporary but fully functional events pavilion while construction continues on the permanent facility. The full centre is expected to be completed next year.

The project is being designed by internationally acclaimed firm Adjaye Associates, in partnership with Canadian firm StructureCraft, known for their groundbreaking work in sustainable, mass timber architecture. The centre will house a 1 500-seat auditorium, rehearsal studios, public terraces, an amphitheatre, a sculpture garden and other cultural amenities. Phase two will see it ultimately cover 85 000 square feet.

“Timber is the unifying language,” said renowned architect Sir David Adjaye, explaining that the material links the Performing Arts Centre to the nearby Newton Enslaved Burial Ground Memorial.

“In the arts centre, it is a material of transformation that is sustainable and adaptable. The building will evolve from the current temporary pavilion into a permanent national institution. Across both the memorial and arts centre projects, timber grounds the architecture in ecology and affirms the deep relationship between nature, culture, and place. Together, they project a vision of Barbados as a forward-looking ecological and creative force.”

The centre is being constructed just a short distance from the Newton Enslaved Burial Ground, the only undisturbed plantation burial site in the Western Hemisphere. The use of sustainable materials and the site’s location offers a poignant connection between Barbados’ rich cultural history and its creative future.

Built on the permanent building’s foundations, the first-phase pavilion avoids material waste and carbonheavy construction methods. It features an 80-foot clear-span timber truss, entirely free of metal fasteners – a world first – anchored by traditional Japanese joinery techniques scaled to modern standards.

“It’s an all-wood truss – no metal, no screws,” said Lucas Epp, head engineer at StructureCraft.

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“The result is a tribute to the mindset of master builders from times past.”

Epp said they were tasked to “engineer and deliver a national landmark on a nearimpossible four-month design and construction schedule”.

“Structural optimisation transforms the traditional tensioncompression webs into pure compression – a truss reimagined as an arch. Using ancient and modern timber joinery, each connection is carefully engineered and detailed for bending, compression, and tension.

“The single bottom chord splice transfers 160 000lb of tension using pure wood tenons. The top chord is spliced with three-foot deep okkake-daisen-tsugi joints scaled beyond historical precedent, transferring both bending and shear.”

Phase 1 of the facility was handed over to the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) in August. This interim venue is already in use, giving Barbadians access to a world-class performance space while the full structure is under development.

The full Performing Arts Centre is part of Adjaye Associates’ Barbados Heritage District masterplan, which includes multiple projects aimed at preserving and celebrating the island’s heritage while showcasing its creative potential.

When completed, the centre will not only be a landmark for Barbados but a global example of climate-conscious, culturally grounded architecture.

It reflects Barbados’ ambition to position itself at the forefront of creative innovation, environmental leadership, and cultural preservation.

In February, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley signed a US$75 million loan agreement with Sergio Diaz Granados Guida, executive director of Development Bank of Latin American and the Caribbean, to assist with two major cultural projects and improve navigational tools at the airport.

The loan is to finance the Sector Wide Approach Programme (SWAP) in support of Roots From Cultural Heritage to Innovation in Barbados.

The funds will be used to build out the National Performing Arts Centre at Newton Slave Burial Ground in Christ Church and the amphitheatre at the National Botanical Gardens, along with modernising the air navigational equipment at Grantley Adams International Airport.

(PR/NS)