Leading building environment engineers Skelly & Couch have collaborated with Haworth Tompkins on a gamut of projects, including Chichester Festival Theatre (above), described by BD as “a subtle yet spirited reinvention of a revered Modernist icon”.

The iconic, Grade II*-Listed Chichester Festival Theatre was designed originally by Powell and Moya in 1962 and over the past fifty years has been a hugely successful and influential centre for the performing arts.

The 1,300-seat auditorium was fully refurbished as part of the recent works, which included the complete replacement by Skelly & Couch of all mechanical and electrical services using sustainable technologies to minimise future running costs and reduce CO2 emissions. A ground source heat pump provides the majority of the heating and cooling and the ventilation system within the theatre has been significantly re-designed to increase comfort. Close co-ordination with Haworth Tompkins allowed the integration of substantially improved thermal elements and new plant within an extremely tight envelope.

Other successful projects featuring collaboration between Skelly & Couch and Haworth Tompkins:

• The Grade II-listed, 6000sqm Battersea Arts Centre, a long-term project upgrading services, technical infrastructure and thermal performance
• Bishop’s Palace House, Kingston Riverside, the transformation of an outdated 1970s structure into an exciting retail and leisure destination
• Donmar Warehouse Dryden Street, the refurbishment of a 19th century London warehouse owned by the leading UK theatre company
• Award-winning new front and back-of-house facilities for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.