C O M M E N D A T I O N SSDA 2019
FACT FILE
Architect:
Ian Ritchie Architects
Structural engineer:
WSP
Main contractor:
Geoffrey Osborne Ltd
Client: Royal
Academy of Music
NSC
October 19 29
A number of innovative structural
steelwork solutions were used in
the redevelopment of the Royal
Academy of Music’s historic Grade
II listed buildings.
The works, carried out on a site
surrounded by operational buildings used by
students and staff, included the replacement
of the existing theatre superstructure, the
addition of new cantilevered balcony seating,
the introduction of a flytower (with main
plant room above), an enlarged orchestra pit,
insertion of new vertical circulation routes,
and a box-in-box rooftop recital hall with its
own glazed foyer.
The existing theatre was considered to
be ill-equipped and badly shaped and has
been remodelled to provide a 40% increase in
seating capacity.
A slender cantilevered horseshoe 100-seat
balcony has been introduced into the theatre,
the structure of which mainly consists of a
system of steel beams cantilevering off hidden
two-storey steel columns, which in turn sit on
the existing stalls concrete bowl slab.
A feature auditorium ceiling has been
introduced to provide a visual focus and
to maximise the acoustic volume of the
theatre. This ceiling is created with a system
of downstand secondary, tertiary and
quaternary beams facetted on plan and clad
in curved timber.
The roof and flytower are in turn
supported by a deep upstand plate girder to
the rear of the balcony, and two novel hybrid
storey-height combined steel trusses and
plate girders. These give space at the edges of
the spans at rooftop level for circulation space
and a plant room.
To each side of the stage, two-level theatre
technician perches were installed, utilising
steel beams within the depth of timber joist
floors to minimise the structural depth, with
the beams in turn supported by a mixture of
steel posts and hangers to reduce the impact
on the stage.
Above the redeveloped theatre, the
opportunity was taken to add a new, partially
exposed, steel-framed 100-seat flexible recital
hall, entirely isolated acoustically (slab and
walls) from the surrounding structure.
Located next to the Recital Hall and
Royal Academy of Music,
London
The redevelopment of this world-renowned
academy has transformed its existing theatre
and provides a new rooftop recital hall.
flytower is a circulation space with a glazed
roof. It is formed by tapered twin steel fins
that are supported by closely spaced stainless
steel cables, inspired by the aesthetics of
string instruments. The cables are supported
by the Recital Hall and plant room and for
almost all of its length the fins do not require
any structural support from the original rear
façade of the Academy’s main building.
Commenting on the use of steelwork,
WSP Project Engineer Daniel Cowan says:
“Structural steelwork has provided a high
quality, lightweight, flexible solution to this
challenging redevelopment project with the
creation of long-span structures seamlessly
integrated with the architecture and services
installations.
Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Principal
of the Royal Academy of Music adds: “The
spaces are stunningly beautiful and inspiring.
They will raise the bar and challenge the
students and staff in every possible form of
music to reach higher and search further.”
Summing up, the judges say a highlyintegrated
design of the steel roof trusses
has allowed the team to squeeze in a rooftop
recital space without compromise to the
auditorium below.
All images on this page ©Adam Scott
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