海角视频

Royal Festival Hall Refurbishment

London, UK

海角视频 is helping to shape a transformational refurbishment of the Royal Festival Hall, enabling this icon of London鈥檚 South Bank to continue delivering world-class cultural provision in the 21st Century.

Conceived to be a 鈥渢onic to the nation鈥� following the hardships of the Second World War, the 1951 Festival of Britain celebrated arts, science, industry and design, as well as the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was one of the landmark UK cultural events of the 20th century, with more than eight million people visiting the festival site on the south bank of the Thames through its five-month run, and many more involved with the thousands of other events held all over the country under the Festival of Britain banner.

The only building that remains from the main festival site is the Royal Festival Hall. Designed by Robert Matthew and Leslie Martin, with Peter Moro, and furniture designer Robin Day, the Brutalist masterpiece has become an iconic presence beside the Thames.

After nearly 70 years of serving culture to the nation, the Royal Festival Hall was in need of sympathetic upgrades and enhancements.

The building is Grade I-listed, making any interventions and retrofitting of historic elements particularly challenging.

The decarbonisation strategy delivered by海角视频 played a key role in shaping the wider project in line with the client鈥檚 own sustainability goals.

Our facades team delivered a separate study to assess the opportunities around enhancing the building envelope to improve energy efficiency.

Challenge

After nearly 70 years of serving culture to the nation, the Royal Festival Hall was in need of sympathetic upgrades and enhancements. Architect Allies and Morrison was briefed to both restore the building to its prime, but also upgrade it to better meet contemporary demands.

海角视频 was engaged to deliver a range of specialist insight, consultancy and technical design input around building services engineering (MEP), facades, specialist lighting, sustainability, security and rainwater collection and recycling systems. The building is Grade I-listed, making any interventions and retrofitting of historic elements particularly challenging.

The scheduling of phases for the ten-year transformation project are largely dictated by access to funding, with a development strategy carefully considered to ensure a successful realisation of the full refurbishment vision.

Solution

The design team鈥檚 approach was to think holistically about the entire site and base interventions on a thorough understanding of the original 1951 building. Removing additions, opening up spaces and restoring functions would underpin the project, and a close dialogue with the South Bank Centre鈥檚 management, resident orchestras and users helped to shape the necessary modifications and ensure the Hall was fit for purpose.

A new office building was developed alongside the original venue to house the centre鈥檚 administrative functions, allowing the lobbies of the building to be returned to public use. Crucially this new structure would also house and conceal the essential new generous service access routes into the base of Royal Festival Hall.

Our sustainability experts initially developed a Net Zero Carbon Pathway, together with a feasibility study and the development of a series of bespoke tools that would help the client to measure carbon improvements over time and support the reduction in the carbon intensity of the site鈥檚 operations in line with the client鈥檚 sustainability targets. 

Our facades team delivered a separate study to assess the opportunities around enhancing the building envelope to improve the energy efficiency of the complex. This focused principally on assessing the options for the sympathetic replacement of post-war era glazing with modern, energy efficient solutions.

MEP systems, many of which are reaching their natural end of life, will be updated and replaced with low carbon, highly efficient systems, infrastructure and plant. Rainwater collected across the site will be reused in irrigation and greywater systems, to minimise water usage.

Our specialist lighting experts are working with the client and the wider design team to oversee improvements to the lighting throughout the venue, as well as conserving historic light fittings to help retain the period identity of the attraction. Our security team is offering insight into a range of enhancements to the building鈥檚 security, with a particular focus on delivering improvements to the theatre鈥檚 stage door and backstage area.

Value

This transformation project is significantly enhancing visitor facilities throughout the foyers and auditorium, restoring clarity to the building and releasing an additional 35% of public space inside. It is also transforming the building鈥檚 relationship with its urban setting, better using the site and engaging with the waterfront.

The decarbonisation strategy delivered by the 海角视频 team played a key role in shaping the wider project in line with the client鈥檚 own sustainability goals in order to ensure a Royal Festival Hall emerges that is truly fit for the 21st century city. Our subject specialists have then been able to deliver their own insight around a broad scope of disciplines to help ensure the overall success of the ambitious transformation of this iconic cultural hub.