Work to start next month on ambitious refit
Mace has been appointed to redevelop Imperial College London’s largest venue – The Great Hall in the Sherfield Building on its South Kensington campus.
Mace’s retrofit team will transform the 4,230 sq ft hall into a flexible, multipurpose space, that can be converted into three lecture theatres.
Designed by Burwell Architects, a key feature will be the creation of removable partitions, enabling the hall to be divided into three distinct areas while retaining its function as an event space.
These motorised partitions will provide high acoustic insulation between sections, supported by a state-of-the-art AV system to allow seamless transitions between different configurations.
In addition, semi-automatic retractable seating will facilitate a quick switch from a theatre setup to an open-space configuration when the hall is used as a single large venue.
The work will be carried out within a live environment, with the Sherfield Building remaining fully operational throughout construction.
The hall has had some famous visitors in the past playing host to gigs by Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Status Quo and David Bowie amongst others. There have been a number of talks by eminent speakers such as Professor Stephen Hawking and Professor Brian Cox, as well as politicians Shirley Williams, Tony Benn and John Smith.
Stewart Ward, Managing Director Fit Out & Retrofit, Mace Construct: “Transforming Imperial’s Great Hall into a multipurpose space with removable motorised partitions is an ambitious forward-looking project, which will set a new standard for quality for future buildings on the campus.
“This space has always been used for a wide range of memorable events and its redevelopment will mean it can easily be converted into a theatre style set up as well as three new separate teaching spaces to benefit the campus community.”
Adam Srodzinski, Director of Capital Projects and Estates Management, Imperial College London added: “The redevelopment of the Great Hall is an exciting step forward for Imperial, transforming this historic space into a truly flexible venue for both world-class teaching and major events. This project is a milestone in our ambition to create campuses that inspire current and future generations.”
Work is expected to start next month and completion is expected in summer 2026.
About The Author
