Imperial’s Great Hall: modernising a world-leading university hall

Stace has been appointed to support the full refurbishment of Imperial College London’s largest venue – the Great Hall – located on its South Kensington campus.

The Great Hall was built as part of the College Block, now known as the Sherfield Building, and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1969. It’s used for a range of events, including,  world-leading lectures and seminars, concerts and rehearsals, exhibitions, exams, and social events.

It has played host to gigs by David Bowie and Elton John, and talks by Professor Stephen Hawking and Professor Brian Cox.

Starting in April 2025, the redevelopment works will transform the 4,230 sq ft hall into a flexible, multipurpose space that can be converted into three lecture theatres with a range of capacities from 140-266, and retractable seating to enable other uses. The Great Hall will have capacity for 584 seated when in large event mode.

Designed to meet the evolving needs of the Imperial community, this project will integrate innovation, accessibility, and adaptability. It will include state-of-the-art movable partitions, enabling seamless reconfiguration into a large auditorium, along with enhanced circulation and full accessibility with widened corridors, new walkway openings, and wheelchair platform lifts.

The redesign reimagines how the Great Hall is used, supporting modern teaching environments while retaining its role as a premier venue for graduations, performances, and public events. The Great Hall will also feature dedicated facilities for exams, orchestral rehearsals, and Friday prayers.

The teaching spaces will be designed to facilitate laptops with USB 2.0 and USB-C power supplies for each seat. The acoustics have been designed to support intelligibility, for teaching and events, whilst being effective for music performances.

Accessibility is a central focus of the redevelopment plans, with a commitment to ensuring every area of the campus is fully inclusive. A new lift will provide wheelchair access throughout the building, and the hall’s stage will be redesigned for wheelchair accessibility. Additionally, teaching areas within the establishment will have hearing loops integrated into the upgraded audiovisual systems.

Consideration is being given to optimise the flow of people and avoid congestion, and new doors and windows will improve circulation and flood the space with natural light.

The project maintains a sustainability focus. A BREEAM refurbishment assessment will ensure efficient use of low-carbon materials, maximising recycled and recyclable materials, reusing existing elements where feasible, and implementing energy-efficient systems.

As the university remains operational, the project team is actively managing relationships with numerous internal departments while ensuring that the contractor can carry out their work efficiently while minimising disruption for building users as far as possible.

Construction has begun on-site, with practical completion expected in summer 2026.