Brighton Dome

We were appointed to design building services to facilitate new performance spacing for Brighton Dome. The design incorporates a mixture of new and retrofitted systems to provide comfortable environments for the performance spaces. 

The plant's energy efficiency was at the forefront of the design process, working with an existing fabric, including the Grade I-listed corn exchange. 

Heat recovery and mixing boxes were installed in the air handling units to reduce the heating or cooling required, depending on the time of year. A central energy centre was kept online during the construction phase to maintain the operation of the existing theatre and museum that shared the same services. 

Dramatic daylighting throughout the new foyer reduces the need for any artificial lighting, and natural ventilation keeps energy use to a minimum. We have carefully integrated building services into the historic fabric to complement the architecture of the new foyer.

As part of the renovations, the timber soffit and recreated timber panelling have been celebrated with warm grazing light. New foyer and bar spaces have been created by infilling a courtyard, and these spaces have been dramatically lit, showcasing the once external brickwork of the historical buildings. 

Roof lighting as part of this new insertion brings natural light to the heart of the building, and the giant windows to the west of the corn exchange were restored to provide borrowed light to the theatre itself, recreating the ambience of the original 1806 riding house. Externally, existing historical street lights adjacent to Pavilion Gardens have been refurbished and installed with new light sources. New functional and discrete lighting has been provided to light the external spaces around the building.