Future Ready – London Symphony Orchestra St. Luke’s
For over twenty years, LSO St Luke’s has been a home for the London Symphony Orchestra – a place for rehearsals, recordings, performances, and for LSO Discovery, the Orchestra’s pioneering education and community programme. Originally designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and completed in 1733, the Grade I listed church was rescued from dereliction and reborn as a music centre in 2003. Two decades of constant use, however, had taken their toll. The time had come for renewal and EEE Build were on hand to provide precision stage engineering.
| Client: | Chichester Festival Theatre |
| Architects: | Reed Watts Architects |
| Project Director & Theatre Consultant: | Plann Ltd |
| Construction Contractor: | Ascia Construction |
| Modular Structure Specialist: | EEE Build (supplied by Triple E Ltd.) |
| Project Duration Onsite: | 10 days |
| Team Size: | 7–8 |
Precision Stage Engineering Project
The Future Ready project — an £8 million transformation led by Levitt Bernstein Associates with GPF Lewis, Theatre Projects, Threshold Acoustics, and Price & Myers — set out to preserve the building’s heritage while preparing it for another generation of artists, audiences, and students.
The refurbishment was both comprehensive and sensitive. Jerwood Hall, the building’s acoustic heart, was re-engineered to provide greater flexibility and control. New timber reflectors and refurbished acoustic banners now give the Orchestra a refined, adjustable sound environment. Beneath the hall, the basement was fully reconfigured to house new Discovery Rooms, purpose-built for education and outreach. Improved circulation, lighting, and accessibility have turned the lower level into a bright, welcoming space supporting the LSO’s growing community work.
Across the site, technical and digital infrastructure was brought firmly into the 21st century. A new audio control room and master control suite now link every performance space, while energy-efficient mechanical and electrical systems, upgraded ventilation, and LED lighting reduce energy use and enhance comfort. Even the churchyard was renewed – landscaped, re-lit, and made accessible to all – restoring a tranquil green space in the heart of Islington.
The result is not merely a refurbishment, but a re-composition: a historic building tuned anew for modern performance, digital production, and public engagement – ready, once again, to serve as the Orchestra’s home and heartbeat.
EEE Build’s Scope of Works
EEE Build Ltd was first contacted in August 2024 as the incumbent contractor invited to quote for the stage engineering package at LSO St Luke’s. Having worked extensively within the venue for more than two decades, the team already knew the site and its systems intimately.
Twenty years earlier, Triple E had designed and installed the original variable acoustic system: twenty-two wall-mounted and ten ceiling-mounted banners controlled by a touchscreen interface. That system had performed reliably for two decades – testament to its design and installation quality – and the wall-mounted elements remained untouched as part of this new refurbishment. The ten ceiling mounted banners, however, now formed part of the upgrade.
Following review of the tender specifications issued by Theatre Projects, EEE Build’s Director, Rowan Bean-Coupe, handled the enquiry directly, scrutinising the documentation and developing a detailed quotation based on the available information. Two distinct work packages were identified: the refurbishment and relocation of the acoustic banners, and the design and installation of the new acoustic reflector system.
The Acoustic Reflectors
The centrepiece of EEE Build’s involvement was the installation of seventy-two acoustic reflectors in Jerwood Hall. The brief called for a precision-engineered suspension system capable of safely supporting each reflector while allowing exact positioning to achieve the intended acoustic performance.
Working in collaboration with Theatre Projects, Realm Projects, Alan White Design, and the wider project team, EEE Build designed a bespoke Unistrut matrix, developing EEE Build’s Technical Director, Rowan Bean-CoupeLooking West at LSO’s Jerwood Hall 3D models and detailed installation drawings for review and coordination. Once approved, the system underwent rigorous in-house load testing to confirm its strength, safety factor, and compliance with design loads before any works commenced on site.
With design sign-off achieved, sample installations were completed in situ to verify appearance, alignment, and methodology. One veneered and one painted panel were installed for client and consultant approval before full production began. The original access plan scheduled the use of MEWPs and scaffold towers for the final phase of the program, leaving a narrow installation window with little contingency before handover. As the overall schedule tightened, GPF Lewis sought to accelerate the works, creating time for review and commissioning ahead of completion. With the ground floor of Jerwood Hall already occupied by welfare facilities, offices, and circulation routes, traditional access equipment was no longer practical. GPF Lewis led the exploration of IRATA-qualified and worked under strict control measures including daily briefings, DROPS registers, and tool-lanyard discipline, ensuring safe and efficient progress throughout the operation.
From this position of control and safety, the team installed the full Unistrut suspension system and proceeded to hoist and position each of the seventy-two reflectors. With limited storage on site, panels were cross hauled from the north balcony and installed sequentially, each set and locked to precise measurements and acoustic angles. Final verification included torque checks, paint-pen witness marking, labelling, and sign-off against drawings. Accuracy was such that the final acoustic tuning session planned by Threshold Acoustics was largely unnecessary – the system required only minor adjustment before being declared complete.
The Acoustic Banner Refurbishment
The second major element of EEE Build’s scope was the refurbishment and re-installation of the ten ceiling-mounted acoustic roller banners within Jerwood Hall. Originally provided by Triple E twenty years earlier, the banners had performed reliably but were now due for renewal and relocation. Under the new acoustic strategy, the banners were to be moved from their previous position along the exterior edges of the hall – mounted directly to the lighting bridge handrails — to new positions one meter either side of the centerline, mounted high within the roof space from the handrails. The number of banners would also reduce from ten to five. This relocation brought the banners into closer alignment with the new acoustic reflector array, improving control and cohesion across the performance area.
Balcony Unistrut Support System
As the refurbishment progressed, GPF Lewis sought to improve the production rigging options beneath the balcony of Jerwood Hall. The existing provision – a single rated scaffold bar running along the balcony edge – limited flexibility and load capacity. A more capable and integrated
solution was required.
EEE Build was commissioned to design, engineer, fabricate, and install a new system: a concealed Unistrut array running the full underside of the balcony, hidden neatly within the acoustic and timber panelling. This would provide a uniform series of rigging points, each discreetly load-rated for future technical and production use.
Basement Unistrut Matrix
During the latter stages of the project, while completing the main installation works, GPF Lewis identified a significant challenge in suspending the new circulation ceiling for the basement cafeteria and adjoining corridor areas. The existing concrete soffit was heavily congested with services – ductwork, pipework, and extensive cable tray – leaving no consistent fixing points from which to support the ceiling grid.
EEE Build was engaged to develop a solution. Our task was to translate this complex and irregular layout into a structurally coherent suspension system that would provide uniform support across the entire area. Working closely with GPF Lewis and with input from Alan White Design, our engineers designed a primary Unistrut framework to span between available fixing points, spreading the load with minimal deflection. From this, a secondary Unistrut matrix was suspended to create an even, measurable ceiling support grid.
Roof Access & Safety Works
To support safe use of the roof and catwalk systems, EEE Build produced detailed Access and Rescue documentation and delivered onsite training to GPF Lewis contractors. Two rope-access instructors led practical sessions covering the wearing and inspection of harnesses, controlled emergency descent using the Tractel system, safe live descent practice with a secondary safety line, and rescue and communication protocols.
In addition, managerial staff were briefed on emergency coordination, incident response, and decision-making during a roof evacuation scenario. All participants completed a knowledge test and practical assessment, ensuring competency before access was granted.
Project Challenges & Constraints
The LSO St Luke’s Future Ready project, focusing on the renewal of the Grade I listed Jerwood Hall, faced a highly complex combination of technical and logistical challenges under a tight deadline for complete, precision stage engineering. Key difficulties arose from the restricted access within the fully-occupied ground floor, necessitating an unconventional and risky shift to rope-access techniques for overhead work. Additionally, the project demanded millimeter-level precision (tolerance) for integrating new acoustic and architectural systems. A significant hurdle was coordinating all interventions within the constraints of a heritage building, requiring bespoke, reversible fixings and sensitive load paths.
- Access/Programme: Ground floor occupation by site offices blocked conventional access equipment (MEWPs/scaffolding); required a late switch to rope-access techniques to protect the schedule.
- Tolerance: Millimetre-level installation precision required for acoustic reflectors and ceiling matrix.
- Heritage Constraints: Grade I listed status necessitated bespoke, reversible fixings and concealed load paths for sensitive intervention around original structure.
- Scope & Workload: Managed absorption of expanding project scope and additional work packages (e.g., roof access, basement structures) concurrently with main installation.
- Verification: Extensive final-phase testing, certification, and documentation across multiple systems required for handover.
For more detail please read our full project document here