We have been working over a number years on a rolling programme to upgrade the services, enhance the technical infrastructure and improve the thermal performance of the Grade II*-listed 6000m² Battersea Arts Centre, formerly Battersea Town Hall. 

Restoration and improvements to the Grade I-listed home of The British Academy

The British Academy is the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences – with a voice that champions the study of peoples, cultures and societies, past, present and future. Situated within the Grade I-listed Nash-designed Carlton House Terrace, the building lies between The Mall and Pall Mall in London’s Mayfair.

The ongoing project aims to restore the double-height basements, creating new 220-capacity events spaces. These flexible spaces with state-of-the-art digital technologies enhance the Academy’s facilities for lectures, meetings, and events. Improvements also include remodelled WCs along with upgraded access to and within the ground floor.

Skelly & Couch led the survey of existing services to plan diversions and demolitions of works alongside an extensive review of archive record drawings to understand the existing systems in place.

The building’s efficiency was improved through the installation of new double glazing, achieving a 40% reduction in heat loss. Furthermore, natural ventilation was maximised by using direct connections to the outside for air paths.

Bespoke designs of new mechanical and electrical systems were undertaken to suit the constraints of the existing building and its listing.

A reversible air source heat pump replaces gas boiler heating to provide low-carbon heating to the events spaces. This is facilitated by thermal zoning, a component of the new building energy management system which includes full fault diagnostics and energy sub-metering.

Heat reclaim mechanical ventilation enhances this setup by supplying filtered air while retaining most of the energy already used to heat the building. The auditorium ventilation system's design was refined to enhance architectural and structural coordination within the limited space and to address impacts on the listed building.

Additional technologies include LED lighting with occupancy, daylight, and dimming control, along with reduced hot water consumption through low-flow water fittings.

The refurbishment of the lower floors of the British Academy marks a significant step in the Academy's mission to enhance both physical and intellectual access to the building, facilitating new conversations, new connections, and new ways of thinking within its historic walls.

The iconic, Grade II* Listed Chichester Festival Theatre was designed by Powell and Moya and opened in 1962. Based on Tyronne Guthrie’s Festival Theatre in Stratford, Ontario, it boasted the first modern ‘thrust’ stage auditorium in the country. Over the past fifty years it has been a hugely successful and influential centre for the performing arts and has been extended on a number of occasions to address changing demands, leading to a dilution of the original design.

Exemplary refurbishment of the school’s Grade II*-listed Main House.

Command of the Oceans, a major, multi-award-winning project for Historic Dockyard Chatham, has secured the repair and preservation of a range of The Historic Dockyard’s Scheduled Ancient Monuments and of the 18^TH century HMS Namur archaeological find, The Ship’s Timbers.

The project involved the sensitive upgrade of an existing restaurant facility on Covent Garden’s famed Opera Terrace within the historic Grade II*-listed Market Building.

The Donmar Warehouse is a leading producing theatre company in London’s Covent Garden. Having acquired a small 19th Century warehouse building in nearby Dryden Street, the theatre wanted to convert it for rehearsal, education and support facilities. The challenge was to design a convivial and creative professional working environment within the constraints of a limited budget and a tightly enclosed site set within the Covent Garden Conservation Area.

The project is to refurbish and extend a Grade II-listed building in the centre of Dorchester’s urban conservation area to create a ‘Collections Discovery Centre’ for the Dorset County Museum. The development will create new facilities for display, education, research and the storage of reserve collections in a basement at the Museum’s site. It will bring new opportunities for audiences to search and explore the collections and associated stories, improve access to the Museum’s resources, deepen opportunities for research and further encourage public engagement. The project will support the local economy and tourism offer and create extra collecting capacity for museums across Dorset. 

Redevelopment of a Grade II-listed Victorian landmark in the heart of London's Clerkenwell

Skelly & Couch was appointed to provide technical input for the masterplan and outline planning application for future developments at the City of London Freemen’s School, a co-educational day and boarding school located in Ashtead Park, Surrey.