Architect Ian Ritchie has been asked by the Royal Shakespeare Company to design a prefabricated temporary theatre at its headquarters in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.

Officials at the theatre have submitted a planning application to Warwick council for a 1000-seat auditorium next to The Other Place, the company’s third venue after the main theatre and the Swan.

The £4m structure will be a temporary home for the RSC while its main venues are redeveloped from 2007 to 2009.

The theatre will be built on a car park next to The Other Place. It will take less time to build because it will be constructed off site.

An RSC spokesperson said the building would not be visually stunning because the “box-like” design would be made from a robust and sound-proof substance called Corten A. The theatre will be fitted together “like Meccano” off-site and coloured “autumnal red” to blend in with surrounding buildings.

The RSC hopes it will be open for the RSC’s Complete Works of Shakespeare Festival, which starts in April next year. It will be the Stratford home for the company’s main house ensemble until the main theatre is redeveloped. An architect for this scheme is being sought.

Funding will be sliced from the £50m donated from the national lottery for the overall project. The RSC is match-funding the costs, which are expected to be £100m.