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Adyar Theatre
On the final day of the 2014 annual Convention, international president Tim Boyd pledged that the following year, during the 2015/2016 Convention, the Adyar Theatre would most certainly have a brand-new roof. The project was flawless; it was going to be semi-permanent roof, instead of the well-known and traditional palm-leaves and aluminium corrugated sheet roof that every year was newly constructed and dismantled directly after the convention.
The Theatre roof of the 2014 annual convention. Each year it was built before the convention and dismantled directly after it
In June 2015 the Adyar – EC (i.e. Executive Committee) decided to approve the plans for the erection of a roof for the Adyar Theatre, fully in accordance with the plans of the Adyar-renovation team.
The design of the new Adyar Theatre roof as a semi-permanent system with one central column
As early as in in January 2015, it had been estimated that the costs for a new semi-permanent roof were going to be around Rs 15,00,000 Indian Rupees ($ 21,870). The plans for a more sophisticated fabrique roof however, turned out to be far more costly, but it was plain that this type of roof would be durable for a longer period. Experts have determined that such a construction will last for at least twenty to twenty-five years, taking the severe weather conditions in Tamil Nadu in consideration.
The costs for this better workable design added up to Rs 25,44,010 ($ 37,093). The difference between the estimated, and the final amount was kindly donated by the Besant Lodge in Cleveland – Ohio, USA. It has to be noted: in order to make ends meet financially, i.e., making up for the difference, nothing was paid out of the Adyar-renovation Fund. It was fully covered by the Cleveland donation.
According to the agreement with the responsible contractor, the construction of the new roof was to be finished by September 2015, but ultimately it took until February 2016 to get the job done. Luckily it was possible to have the 2015/2016 Convention taking place under a 100% safe, but unfinished roof.
Making of the steel construction for the roof
The Theatre roof during the 2015/2016 annual convention
Last February the first Elephants Newsletter was widely distributed with much information about the fundraising and it included the Fundraising Thermometer. The well-designed Adyar-renovation site offers the possibility to sign up for this newsletter.
All will agree that this will be a long-term project and that much money is needed to realize the dream of a fully renovated headquarters at Adyar. It is good that members of the TS-Adyar the world over are aware of all this, and are actively involved in this project; it is not just an undertaking of just a few.
