Client: The British Land Company
Designed by world renowned architect Piers Gough, partner CZWG architects, the £14.1m Canada Water Library in Southwark contains a state-of-the-art library and is part of a major regeneration project in Rotherhithe. Sitting at the centre of a new town plaza, the building, which is the shape of an inverted pyramid, is set to transform Canada Water into a major centre for South London.
Hoare Lea provided mechanical, electrical and public health design services for the Library, together with BREEAM assessment and communications, lighting design, security, sustainability and vertical transportation expertise.
The library houses an extensive 40,000 book collection; a 150 seat theatre and culture space; a café; learning spaces; 79 computers; and access to council services.
Client: Oxford University Estates Department
The Radcliffe Infirmary, designed by the architect Stiff Leadbetter, opened in 1770. In 2003 the infirmary was acquired by Oxford University for redevelopment as an academic campus. It closed as a hospital in 2007.
Hoare Lea has acted as mechanical and electrical consulting engineer for the Grade II* listed main infirmary building and St Luke’s Chapel (the infirmary chapel). It is anticipated that the main infirmary will accommodate office and seminar space, with services that will provide modern facilities while respecting the historic importance of the structure. Hoare Lea Lighting has also provided specialist lighting design services to create an elegant and energy-efficient scheme.
The infirmary building and chapel are both located in the heart of the proposed Radcliffe Observatory Quarter. This redevelopment will provide more student accommodation and additional teaching and library facilities for Somerville College and a variety of Humanities Department Buildings.
Image courtesy of Purcell Miller Tritton.
Client: Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College was established in 1509 and has a fine legacy of historic, Grade I listed buildings.
Hoare Lea is acting as mechanical and electrical consulting engineer during the modernisation of the social, dining and catering facilities.
The first phase of work has opened up a warren of cellular spaces to create a student bar and snack servery. The second phase will comprise the conversion of the former medieval kitchen to provide dining facilities. This will include the integration of a major new kitchen and associated cold rooms into the heart of the Grade I listed College complex. Both phases also include the refurbishment of front-of-house areas.
Maintaining the integrity of the original design is paramount and therefore, as far as possible, the electrical and mechanical services will be concealed. Within the highly serviced kitchen areas the existing structure and ceiling heights have provided significant challenges in designing the required supply and extract ventilation, heating and comfort cooling for this historic setting – these have been solved by the use of an innovative variable refrigerant volume (VRV) system.
Image courtesy of BGS architects.
Client: OUED
Steeped in history and architectural significance, the Sheldonian Theatre is a great example of our experience within the heritage sector.
Located in Oxford, the Sheldonian Theatre is one of the earlier examples of Christopher Wren’s work on a public building. Completed in 1669, the Theatre is still used in its original capacity as a venue for ceremonial functions at the University of Oxford.
Hoare Lea was commissioned to complete a design that was both sympathetic with the architecture and practical for variety of events that take place in the space. The new lighting design has significantly improved the interior and made it a far more flexible space to use. A new lighting control system allows the theatre staff far more control, and simple scene sets ensure each event type has an appropriate ambience.
Client: Bristol Old Vic Trust
Hoare Lea is working on the historic Bristol Old Vic theatre, providing MEP design, lighting, acoustics and virtual engineering advice on its refurbishment.
The Bristol Old Vic theatre company and its Grade I listed home includes the unique Theatre Royal in King Street, Bristol. Built in 1766, the theatre is considered to be the oldest existing theatrical auditorium in the UK and many believe the most beautiful. It was last refurbished and extended in the early 1970’s and most of the mechanical and electrical systems from that period are at the end of their economic life and not suitable for the modern theatrical experience.
The Theatre Royal closed in February 2011 to allow work to commence and an enabling work contract has taken place to allow the front of house and the small studio theatre to continue performances during the construction works.
Hoare Lea Lighting has also been involved in developing the design using LED lighting to empathise the structure and relief of the Georgian auditorium.
Client: Birmingham City Council
Upon its opening in 1834, visitors to Birmingham Town Hall were awestruck not only by the building’s impressive Roman Revival civic architecture, but also by the magnificent interior. Henry Lea (Hoare Lea's founder) supervised one of the first electrical lighting systems installed in a public building at Birmingham Town Hall in 1882.
The reopening of the town hall saw the Grade 1 listed landmark restored to its former glory. Hoare Lea undertook all of the initial surveys and feasibility studies to consider the most appropriate environmental engineering options and plan the electrical infrastructure. An innovative translucent canopy system was also developed to enhance the acoustic qualities of the space without spoiling the views of the historic hall. The introduction of programmable acoustic blinds and a large secondary glazing system also improved the building's acoustics.
Client: University of Oxford
ACE Awards 2012 - Winner - Building Services (Medium Firm)
Located across several buildings, the Bodleian Library forms the largest library system in the UK. As part of a strategic masterplan, the Underground Book Store beneath Radcliffe Square has been converted into two floors of open-access library space containing the highest-use reading material.
The Book Store was built between 1909 and 1912 as an overflow book storage facility. The refurbished space, known as the Gladstone Link, can now house 240,000 books and offers study areas and facilities such as reader terminals and photocopiers.
The scheme retains a number of the historic 'Gladstone' bookcases which have been sensitively re lit, and a new staircase and lift access into the base of the Grade I listed Radcliffe Camera.
Client: University of Oxford Ashmolean Museum
The redevelopment of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has created new galleries to display the Museum’s world-renowned collections of Ancient Egypt and Nubia (present day Sudan), including the Shrine of Taharqa (c 680 BC), built at Kawa in Sudan.
Designed by Rick Mather Architects, the 1,016m² redevelopment included the refurbishment of the four existing Egyptian galleries, along with the transformation of the Ruskin Gallery, which previously housed the Ashmolean Shop, into a 5th gallery to house the Predynastic holdings. The project also involved the relocation of the shop into a newly converted space next to the café on the lower ground floor.
Hoare Lea provided mechanical, electrical and public health (MEP) consultancy services for the scheme.
Client: The British Land Company
Designed by world renowned architect Piers Gough, partner CZWG architects, the £14.1m Canada Water Library in Southwark contains a state-of-the-art library and is part of a major regeneration project in Rotherhithe. Sitting at the centre of a new town plaza, the building, which is the shape of an inverted pyramid, is set to transform Canada Water into a major centre for South London.
Hoare Lea provided mechanical, electrical and public health design services for the Library, together with BREEAM assessment and communications, lighting design, security, sustainability and vertical transportation expertise.
The library houses an extensive 40,000 book collection; a 150 seat theatre and culture space; a café; learning spaces; 79 computers; and access to council services.
