1. THE FESTIVAL WING AND THE REPAIR AND
MAINTANAINCE PROJECT
SOUTHBANK CENTRE, LONDON
The Southbank Centre is the
largest performing arts centre in
Europe. The Festival Wing
includes the Queen Elizabeth
Hall, Purcell Room, Hayward
Gallery and associated
foyer/back-of-house spaces.
The Transformation of the
Festival Wing project brief
includes the need to address
urgent problems including poor
access to, and upgrading of, the
stages and galleries,
substandard back-stage areas,
and worn out services. The
project also seeks to reclaim
unused and underused space
The original project involved the
creation of a new full-size
orchestral rehearsal and
performance hall to the highest
international standards; a new
foyer space linking the Hayward
Gallery to the Queen Elizabeth
Hall; a new education and
administration building;
redevelopment of the undercroft
areas; and a full refurbishment
of the existing Queen Elizabeth
Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward
Gallery.
Following an abortive planning
application, the scope of the
project was reduced, retaining
the essential
refurbishment/enhancement
items but omitting a large
amount of the new-build
elements, which were dependent
on funding secured via the re-
purposing of the existing
undercroft areas.
CUSTOMER
Southbank Centre
LOCATION
London
PERIOD
2013-2018
PROJECT BUDGET
£97m (original) £20m (reduced
scope scheme
SERVICES PROVIDED
Acoustics

2. As part of the revised scheme
the Queen Elizabeth Hall will be
comprehensively refurbished.
Comprehensive benchmarking
measurements of the existing
hall have been undertaken as
well as subjective quality studies
at a large number of concerts
reflecting the broad programme
of musical repertoire performed
in the Hall.
The walls of the Hall feature
bespoke designed adjustable
Helmholz resonators which are a
critical element in the acoustic
control for the Hall. As part of
our work on the project we
undertook a detailed study into
the design, performance and
degradation of the resonators
since their installation during the
late 1960s. Replica resonators
have been built and tested in an
acoustics laboratory by Ramboll
Acoustics and the outcome of
the study has informed the
design of the Hall refurbishment.
A particular challenge in the
acoustic design of the project
has been the re-design of the
original 1960s ventilation
system to meet modern
standards of ventilation and
comfort. Ramboll acoustics took
a hands-on role in investigating
the existing system and working
closely with the M&E Engineers,
Max Fordham, in developing a
cost effective low-noise system.
In the smaller Purcell Room, the
refurbishment involves re-
configuring the stage access and
making improvements to the
sound insulation of the Hall from
other internal spaces.
The Hayward Gallery, the largest
and most versatile temporary
art exhibition space in London,
will be refurbished and upgraded,
with enhancements in terms of
reverberation, building services
noise and sound insulation.
In addition, the design of new
and existing foyers to permit a
large variety of performance will
provide a ‘festival atmosphere’
and aid acoustical planning of
festival events. The original
character of the Queen Elizabeth
Foyer will be restored with the
refurbishment of the original
acoustic/lighting downstands.