Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Music Facility
A modern and acoustically optimised environment for rehearsals, performances and musical collaboration.
Services (7)
Sectors
Location
Sandhurst, United Kingdom
Client
Ministry of Defence Estates
Architect
HLM Architects
The purpose-built facility at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst provides British Army Band Sandhurst musicians with a modern, acoustically optimised space for rehearsals, performances, and collaboration. Formally historic stables and offices, the music facility incorporates renewable technologies and efficient design. We provided MEP, structural, and civil engineering, air quality, sustainability, acoustics and transportation consultancy.
Our teams worked on a design that meets the Ministry of Defence’s 55 kWh/m² energy requirement. This was achieved by reducing the quantity of pluggable apparatus, using highly efficient plant, maximising the use of natural daylight, maximising air tightness and through the instigation of renewable technology utilising heat pumps, and photovoltaic. Main communication lines were diverted, and electrical infrastructure was upgraded to support the refurbished buildings, replacing town gas with air source heat pumps for heat and hot water.
Dean Gordon, Principal Mechanical Engineer, commented, “We continue to collaborate with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) to push the boundaries of sustainable design and are proud to contribute towards delivering exceptional facilities to support our armed forces. This project provides refurbished, state-of-the-art rehearsal and performance space for musicians who serve in the British Army Band Sandhurst.”
Cundall’s design incorporated sustainable technology in line with the User Requirement Document (URD). This included technology such as photovoltaic, rainwater harvesting, heat pumps, heat recovery and intelligent controls including daylight dimming. A culmination of the Cundall specific inputs allowed us to achieve DREAM Excellent for the survey stage submission.