The Hall for Cornwall reopened in the autumn of 2021, after a multi-million-pound renovation of the Grade II* listed buildings.  The refurbishment achieved the fine balance of enhancing the visitor experience and increasing audience capacity while respecting and featuring elements of the building’s rich heritage. Redevelopment of the Hall for Cornwall has seen the building stripped back and a new, larger three-tier auditorium – the Cornwall Playhouse – created, adding 300 seats, and increasing capacity to over 1,250 seats all of whom enjoy improved sightlines and a heightened theatre experience.

Employing a strategy of refurbishment and reuse of existing building fabric as far as possible has seen the project achieve BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating and in revealing the historic fabric of the building strengthens its links to the past and chronicles its history. The project team embraced the reuse philosophy at every opportunity from recycled aggregate to the careful repair of salvageable windows and fittings and the retention of steel and masonry. Innovative solutions to energy efficiency within this historic building have seen electricity consumption drop by 15% despite an increase in audience capacity.

The Hall for Cornwall renovation is a great example of bringing together the expertise to achieve outstanding environmental results in construction. This project demonstrates how we can learn together, and from each other, to make the right choices in the design and construction of projects in our commitment to achieve significant impacts in the sustainability of the built environment across the industry.

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