Heritage-sensitive Building Services Design for a New Contemporary Art Gallery in Mayfair

 Building performance specialist Mesh has completed a building services design project for a new flagship art gallery in Savile Row – Sadie Coles HQ. The six-storey Grade II listed Georgian townhouse in London’s Mayfair, which dates back to the 1730s, has been fully restored and transformed by lead contractor Work Ltd, to create a unique space for contemporary art.

The building, once home to the Burlington Fine Arts Club in the 19th century, had been bomb damaged in World War II and used as offices post-war. It has now been sensitively reinstated as a space for artists to exhibit their work in a part of London which has a long association with contemporary art. 
 

The key aim of this extensive refurbishment project was to work to a fast-track programme for the gallery’s opening to coincide with the Frieze Art Fair.

Mesh was appointed to develop a holistic MEP building services strategy, from concept through to detailed design, and in keeping with the character and constraints of this heritage building.
 

Enhanced control of the internal environment was required to maintain visitor comfort all year round and in the context of continually fluctuating occupancy levels, including events for up to 200 people.

Working within a Grade II listed building required a highly considered approach at every stage – historic architectural features were revealed and restored internally and externally, and extensive structural improvements were required to accommodate art loadings. These factors had to be reflected in the services design and specification.

Mesh used dynamic thermal modelling for different scenarios of use to understand the heating and cooling loads required and to allow the services to be accurately sized for each room or gallery. Two priorities were cooling and for each area to be individually controlled according to occupancy levels.

Discrete but robust heating and cooling provision was designed for the gallery areas and the MEP services were concealed in void spaces to avoid impacting on the architectural features of the building or the layout of the galleries. Plant and equipment had to be sited in compliance with stringent planning requirements, which limited the number, size, position and visual impact of the external units.

Passive measures were introduced to reduce energy consumption and included actuated openable rooflights in a glazed lantern to purge warm air during the day and reduce the reliance on the active cooling system.

Giles Reid, Giles Reid Architects:
 

“The new gallery has succeeded in its ambition – to reaffirm that London has an important position in the global art world. This was a complex project which had to be delivered in just nine months from planning approval for the fixed deadline for opening, and despite having to carry out extensive structural alterations.

The building is performing well from a services perspective, including at the opening event which was attended by around 800 guests. The M&E design in contemporary art spaces like this must never detract, visually or acoustically, from the art being exhibited and this has been successfully achieved.

This is a fantastic statement building which has been acclaimed and the Client is thrilled. It is a credit to everyone involved that this historic building has been brought back into use for contemporary art.”

Doug Johnson, Founding Director of Mesh:
 

“This project demonstrates exactly what intelligent building services engineering should deliver – an integrated, high-performance solution to deliver year-round-comfort for visitors and users of the building whilst maintaining a clean aesthetic.

Working within a Grade II listed building with complex planning restrictions required genuinely creative engineering rather than a conventional response. We are really proud to have contributed to this outstanding building transformation.”

The Project Team:

Client: Sadie Coles HQ

Lead contractor (design and delivery): Work Ltd

Architectural partner: Giles Reid Architects

MEP design / building performance: Mesh

About Mesh

Mesh offers a range of design and engineering services to help organisations in the public and private sectors to improve the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings, housing and estates. This includes support for architects; planning; thermal modelling and overheating analyses; carbon reduction strategies; feasibility studies for renewable technologies; MEP design, and regulatory compliance.

Architectural images - Joseph Asghar