Construction

Sir Robert McAlpine Limited was the main contractor responsible for the design and construction of The Stoller Hall. A leading UK building and civil engineering company founded in 1869, Sir Robert McAlpine is committed to the highest standards of safety, sustainability and quality. The company operates across all the major market sectors, tailoring its wide-ranging design, construction, technical and management  capabilities to meet clients’ needs. Family-owned and with a proud record of achievement, one of the company’s main strengths is the ability to manage large and complex multi-discipline contracts. Notable other UK theatres constructed by the company include Milton Court London, Kings Place London & Perth concert hall in Scotland.

The Stoller Hall

Having completed the base build for this scheme back in 2012, we returned to commence on site with the Concert Hall fit-out works in June 2015 and in September 2016 handed over the keys without a single snag identified on the certificate of Practical Completion. This is a major achievement, especially given the high-class nature of the finishes, together with the acoustic engineering excellence which has had to be achieved through design detailing and workmanship, in order to provide the high-class performance auditoria.

Constructing The Stoller Hall was not an easy challenge, particularly given the fact that the school remained operational throughout the project. Understanding the complicated logistics and establishing a methodology to construct the hall was key, all delivered through a small knock out panel in the façade of the existing building. The technical fit out of the hall was another difficult challenge, much of the installed equipment is very specialist and required a degree of learning up front to ensure we delivered the scheme right first time. Our experience of completing similar schemes was crucial and allowed us to tailor the design to minimise problems later on and at all times minimising disruption to the live school.

Acoustics is at the heart of the design of the hall, with every visible surface doing something to improve the acoustic quality of the space. Understanding what each element of the hall was doing acoustically meant an enhanced level of quality checking was required to ensure the final performance criteria was met. We religiously reinforced this principle to all involved in the project from the outset and throughout the build process, something that contributed to producing a hall that we are all proud to be have been part of.