Recent News

Sevenoaks School Wins RIBA Award

It has just been announced that Sevenoaks School Performing Arts Centre was one of Twelve schools, academies and colleges, that won honours over all and are in the running for the Stirling Prize shortlist of six.

Over one in ten winners in this year’s RIBA Awards were schools or academies, continuing the trend for schools to win top honours for design.

Synergy were Project Managers and CDM Co-ordinators on the stunning Performing Arts Centre completed at Sevenoaks School in 2010. Working with the visionary Tim Ronalds Architects, a building of ecclesiastical scale and quality has been constructed to fulfil the vision of the Sevenoaks School Foundation, to provide state of the art music and drama facilities within an inspirational and environmentally sustainable building.

Performing arts buildings pose unusual problems in terms of sustainable design. Sound proofing considerations necessitate heavy and sealed constructions which involve more materials. Auditoriums are enclosed spaces which can require mechanical ventilation and cooling in summer, which in turn consume more energy. The key sustainable features of the Performing Arts Centre encompass: a building insulated and sealed to exceed minimum building regulation standards; rooms and an auditorium that are naturally ventilated; a high thermal mass; and, effective solar shading and night-time ventilation, which is used to ensure comfort in the summer without the need for active cooling. The building is designed to operate as passively as possible.

The Performing Arts Centre comprises of 4 floors, housing a main performance hall, primarily designed as a concert hall capable of holding an audience of up to 450 with an orchestra or choir. The Hall is also suitable for assemblies of up to 500 school pupils and staff. The building has a recital room which will seat up to 100 with a chamber group,  but can also be used for choir and ensemble rehearsals and there is a drama studio for small performances. Classrooms for drama and music, specialist music teaching classrooms, ensemble teaching rooms and smaller music teaching / practice rooms have all been expertly designed and constructed to meet stringent acoustic criteria.

We are very proud to have been involved in this fantastic project which is getting the due recognition from the RIBA.