Malmö Stadsteater has reopened following a five-year refurbishment by Haworth Tompkins architects and White Arkitekter. The project, for the Malmö Stadsteater team and Malmö City Council, will welcome new audiences and communities into the 120 year old former circus venue. A refurbished flexible format auditorium creates an intimate performance space with potential for boundless theatrical creativity, merging the raw energy of new architectural elements with the historic shell of the original circus amphitheatre. The auditorium is connected to the street by a new link building that part-covers an existing courtyard providing an informal events space as well as an inviting route between a new theatre street entrance, café & workshop space and the refurbished theatre foyers. All these design moves aim to express the values of porosity, conviviality, provisionality and artistic permissiveness.
Artistic Director Kitte Wagner said: “For many, it has been clear that Malmö Stadsteater needed to solve very fundamental challenges in our listed theatre, an historic hippodrome. Yet none of us saw the way forward until we met the architects of Haworth Tompkins. Despite the pandemic and the physical distance, they never felt far away. With White, they worked consistently to bring redemption to a fantastic theatre, to give back to the people of Malmö a house that is open, warm, democratic and without barriers a place we can all visit and feel welcome in."
Haworth Tompkins has three projects shortlisted at this year’s Pineapple Awards: The Developer and Festival of Place, which celebrate excellence in placemaking. The shortlists demonstrate the strength of our approach to placemaking and collaborative design.
Unanimous planning permission has been granted for Troubadour Greenwich Peninsula, a new 3,000-capacity performance venue designed by Haworth Tompkins.
Haworth Tompkins Associate Director Ken Okonkwo has been reappointed as a Mayor’s Design Advocate (MDA) for the 2025–2028 term, marking his second appointment to the role.
2025 was a demanding year for the built environment, but also one of real momentum for Haworth Tompkins. Against a challenging economic and political backdrop, the practice continued to adapt, collaborate and deliver work of lasting value.
The £2 billion York Central regeneration project has submitted the latest planning application for the next stage of delivery and includes Haworth Tompkins designs for Foundry Village; a walkable, street-based neighbourhood designed that will deliver 368 mixed-tenure homes.
Theatr Clwyd has been shortlisted for Theatre Building of the Year at this year’s Stage Awards.
Pembroke Mill Lane, Cambridge and The Warburg Renaissance have been selected as Regional Finalists in the 2026 Civic Trust Awards and will now be considered for National Awards with the winners announced January 2026.
Haworth Tompkins has completed Backstage at the Old Vic, a new build six storey extension to the Grade II* listed Old Vic Theatre, in London’s Waterloo marking a bold new chapter in the theatre’s remarkable 200-year story.
| 30.10.25 | Construction Reaches Topping Off Milestone for the New Home of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University → |
| 28.07.25 | Haworth Tompkins reveals plans for the redevelopment of Grade I listed De La Warr Pavilion → |
| 13.05.25 | Haworth Tompkins to lead design of affordable housing in £2.5 Billion York Central Regeneration → |