The Bishop Centre, Godolphin and Latymer School London, United Kingdom

AMPC undertook a detailed feasibility study of different uses of the church: examining how a listed building could be adapted with a light touch to allow for worship, assembly, examinations, concerts and drama within the one space whilst being respectful to the architecture, and at the same time, breathing new life into an under-used building and exploring the loading capacity on the existing structure that such a conversion would impose.

Seating capacities accommodated range from 200 for drama to 800 for assemblies.

With conservation architect Burrell Foley Fischer, AMPC created a central well in nave for varied seating formats and staging heights. BFF carried through the architectural insertions within the church.

AMPC prepared performance specifications to achieve this level of flexibility for the overhead rigging, horizontal adjustable acoustic sails, performance lighting and sound, and varying floor platforms.

The east end of the nave is used for concerts whilst the west end is for drama and musicals. In the round can be staged in the centre of the nave and also catwalk format for traverse productions.

The flexible venue has proved very popular by students and parents alike providing the school with a diverse range of exciting staging configurations for full artistic expression which the school says is limited only by the imagination. The audience is accommodated in comfort and style whilst the pupils’ performances has flourished whether on stage or working behind the scenes.

Its potential has been explored to the full since completion in 2009 as the space is used for parents evenings, classes, recitals, concerts, drama performances, fashion shows, musicals, assemblies, art exhibitions, presentations, events, workshops and public lectures.