The Stratford Festival has kicked off a $100-million fundraising campaign to renovate the Tom Patterson Theatre.

The original building, erected in the early 20th century as a curling rink, has housed the theatre for 46 years but has suffered from cramped seating, poor accessibility and limited production capabilities, and is now at the end of its viable life, the festival said in a news release.

Architect Siamak Hariri of Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini has designed a new theatre, “which we believe will be the best theatre room in North America,” said Stratford artistic director Antoni Cimolino. “We hope it will be a shining example of legacy architecture, like the Sydney Opera House or the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, but on a smaller scale suitable to our beautiful riverside setting.”

It will feature slightly larger capacity, improved acoustics and audience comfort. At its heart will be a jewel-box theatre “with all of the character and intimacy of the existing Tom Patterson auditorium,” clad in lime-washed masonry surrounded by a veil of shimmering glass. There will also be a two-acre terraced garden.

The new building will allow a longer season and expansion of several of the festival’s programs, including the Stratford Festival Laboratory for the development of new work and theatre practices; the Forum, which features talks, workshops and other events that complement the plays on

offer; Stratford Festival HD, which is capturing all of Shakespeare’s plays on film over 10 years, and other digital initiatives.

These projects and outreach programs developed by the festival’s education department will be housed in the new Tom Patterson.

The campaign is off to a good start, with $40 million promised by the federal and provincial governments,

and another $30 million in pledges, including $10 million each from campaign co-chair Ophelia Lazaridis, and board chair Dan Bernstein with his wife Claire Foerster.

“Just as the creation of the festival transformed our city 65 years ago, this new theatre will add great depth and opportunity to our community,” said festival executive director Anita Gaffney.