Skelly & Couch has completed Stage 4 design at the Grade II*-listed Rhodes House, Oxford, for a new world-class convening hub designed to encourage the global exchange of ideas across all cultures and nationalities.

A series of commissions for The King’s School Canterbury £48m plan.

As part of The King’s School Canterbury £48 million development plan, five projects have been undertaken: the Malthouse Performing Arts Centre, Kingsdown House, Mitchinson’s Day House, an International College, and the Precincts project with the Rausing Science Centre and additional dining facilities—all in collaboration with Skelly & Couch.

The 19th-century Malthouse is a new performance centre for the school, comprising drama and dance teaching facilities, a 350-seat auditorium, theatre foyers, as well as science and art teaching accommodation. It also includes commercial kitchen and dining facilities.

Phase 1 of the Kingsdown House refurbishment created boarding accommodation for 30 pupils, including a common room, study area, and kitchen. For phase 2, a new building was constructed for the older pupils of the house. Kingsdown House won three 2019 Canterbury Society Design Awards and a 2018 Civic Trust AABC Conservation Commendation.

The masterful conversion of a Grade II-listed building provided the Mitchinson’s Day House for 70 non-boarding pupils, featuring study and social spaces, changing rooms, and a kitchenette; ensuring high levels of comfort while minimising operational energy consumption through passive design.

The International College is a purpose-built teaching and residential building designed for international students to live and learn in Canterbury. It offers 34 ensuite bedrooms for students, as well as flats for staff and specialist teaching facilities. Constructed in cross-laminated timber, the three-storey building wraps around a private courtyard for socialising and learning.

Resolving two main challenges on the school’s site, the Precincts Project has updated and co-located science facilities to bring them up to a world-class standard and increased dining and social provision to cater for a larger school population.

The Rausing Science Centre is the school’s first new construction since the 1970s. Situated within a World Heritage Site with a rich archaeological history and Grade I-listed buildings, the centre was meticulously designed to blend with its environment. It features six state-of-the-art physics labs, a versatile auditorium for up to 140 people, and dedicated spaces for staff and circulation. it connects with refurbished biology and chemistry facilities, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.

Lastly, the ground floor of the Grade II listed Shirley hall has been reconfigured to create a second lunchtime venue, providing additional space for students to enjoy meals in a historic and scenic setting.

The developments at King’s School, Canterbury bring the UK’s most historic school to a world-class standard by meeting the educational needs of today while respecting the architectural legacy of the past.

Awards

Malthouse

Winner of a RIBA National Award 2021.

Winner of three RIBA South East Awards 2021: Main Award, Building of the Year and Conservation

Civic Trust Awards 2023.

Winner of an AJ Retrofit Award 2021: Cultural Buildings £5 million and over.

Kingsdown House

Winner of three Canterbury Society Design Awards 2019: Overall Winner; New Building in a Conservation Area; and best Refurbishment.

Commended at the Civic Trust AABC Conservation 2018.

Mitchinson’s Day House

Shortlisted for an AJ Retrofit Award 2019.

International College

Winner of a RIBA National Award 2021.

Highly Commended at the in the Civic Trust Awards 2022.

The original 40-year-old Polka Theatre in Wimbledon was the first UK theatre venue dedicated exclusively to children. This project features a refurbishment of the theatre with an added extension to the rear of the building led by Foster Wilson Size Architects.

The 559m² New Temple Complex by James Gorst Architects demonstrates an exemplar approach to passive design and long-term sustainability.

Situated within an 11.5-hectare estate in the South Downs National Park, the New Temple Complex is a multi-faith space comprising of healing chapels, a library, a multi-use lecture room, a kitchen and a visitor’s entrance foyer; all linked via an internal cloister. The temple holds symbolic elements reflecting the spiritual beliefs of the White Eagle Lodge and it occupies the same sacred spot as its 1970s predecessor. The building is completely framed in timber with clay brickwork encased in chalk lime mortar, all natural materials found in the immediate surroundings, encouraging a connection with the landscape.

The building’s environmental strategy is rooted in passive design principles, prioritising energy efficiency during the initial design phase. This approach includes low fabric heat loss, enhanced daylighting, and natural ventilation, forming the basis for the subsequent integration of low-carbon and renewable technologies.

The building fabric incorporates high-performance glazing exceeding conventional insulation standards, thereby effectively minimising heat loss. The New Temple's shallow, single-storey structure maximises daylight, reducing the need for artificial lighting. Nestled away from noise and pollution, the temple enjoys the benefits of natural ventilation, further aided by high-level actuators strategically placed in the temple's clerestory.

Innovative sustainability features include a sub-floor ventilation system operational in high occupancy areas. This system uses the thermal mass of a labyrinth to provide tempered air in winter and free cooling in summer.

Overcoming challenges posed by the absence of natural gas infrastructure and the availability of only single-phase power, the project successfully procured a small low-carbon ground source heat pump meeting the needs of the entire building. Buried in the landscape, this technology extracts low-temperature energy from the ground, producing higher temperatures that serve underfloor heating throughout the temple. Pre-existing photovoltaic panels were repurposed and relocated to an open area on-site, partially powering the heat pump and providing the building with low-carbon electricity.

The New Temple Complex stands as a timeless space for contemplation and community, seamlessly blending spirituality, simple architecture, and sustainable design. Its harmonious integration with the surroundings embodies both peace and environmental stewardship.

In Numbers

On-site energy generation 4,550 kWh/yr
Heating and hot water load 19.73 kWh/m²/yr
Total energy load 42.60 kWh/m²/yr
Carbon emissions (all) 25.9 kgCO₂/m²

Services

Electrical and Lighting
Heating
Ventilation
Acoustics

Awards

RIBA National Award 2024
RIBA South Awards – South Award Winner 2024
RIBA South Awards – Building of the Year Winner 2024
RIBA South Awards –  Sustainability Award Winner 2024
RIBA South Awards – Project Architect of the Year Winner 2024
Civic Trust Awards  – The National Panel Special Award Winner 2024
Civic Trust Awards  – The Special Award for Sustainability 2024
AJ Architecture Awards – Winners 2023
Wood Awards – Winners 2023

Download press coverage from right-hand column.

Founded in 1975 inside a former Wesleyan Methodist church, Grade II-listed Jacksons Lane Arts Centre has played a key role in the development of London’s fringe and community theatre. The latest project upgrades technical and visitor facilities within the complex, which features a 166-capacity theatre, large-scale studio and café-bar, all of which were in need of repair.

The existing 5th floor costume workshop department at the Grade II*-listed National Theatre is undergoing a full refurbishment to meet up-to-date compliance requirements and better meet the needs of the costume workshop users.

Skelly & Couch is presently involved in the refurbishment and building extension of the Warburg Institute which addresses the building’s infrastructure issues but also instigates the development of a new lecture theatre in a 1950s library.

A practical and contemporary-style pavilion for the visitors of Grade I-listed Waddesdon Manor.

A modern performance centre developed within a historic maltings.

A former maltings now hosts drama and dance studios, a 350-seat theatre encouraging pupil involvement both on and off stage. Foyers, carved out from historic barley kilns, connect to a commercial kitchen, dining rooms, science labs, and art studios. Additional spaces include drama department offices, actor changing rooms, and set production workshops.

The King’s School Canterbury is Britain’s oldest public school, a co-educational day and boarding school. Our long-standing professional relationship with the school has resulted in bespoke standard project specifications, simplifying maintenance, and establishing common design standards for future endeavours.

The sensitive repurposing of the 19^th century Malt into a new performance centre involved threading services around existing building features, requiring close collaboration with the whole design team, whilst meeting the client’s brief for facilities akin to those found in professional theatre environments.

Significant upgrades to the fabric and insulation resulted in a largely-reused existing building with great sustainability credentials. Secondary glazing was added to improve efficiency whilst retaining the historic windows and a careful analysis determined which parts of the building could be comfortably naturally ventilated, despite it being immediately beside both the train line into London and residential properties.

Where natural ventilation was not appropriate, heat recovery systems were designed to ensure efficient use of energy in operation. Full M&E services were designed to ensure energy-efficient operation and lower carbon emissions.

Winning a RIBA National and four East Awards in 2021, the Malthouse at King’s School Canterbury was praised as an "exemplar of how to repurpose an existing building in an imaginative, honest, and sensitive way." This recognition highlights the successful transformation of the maltings, now a centre for creating and experiencing drama and dance of the highest quality.

Awards

Winner of a RIBA National Award 2021.

Winner of three RIBA South East Awards 2021: main award, Building of the Year and Conservation - Full Article.

Civic Trust Awards 2023.

Winner of an AJ Retrofit Award 2021: Cultural Buildings £5 million and over. The conversion of the Victorian brewery maltings into a school theatre and drama centre was described by judges as combining ‘a freshness of approach while sensitively retaining the character of the existing building’.

Skelly & Couch worked on a spectacular new home for the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts on a site behind the Stirling Prize-winning Peckham Library in south London.