20 Jun 2023
Benedetti Architects unveils the comprehensive expansion and re-design of BAFTA’s Grade II listed headquarters, enhancing its international identity as the centre of excellence for motion picture arts in Film, Games, and Television; integrating innovative state-of-the-art technology and cost-in-use efficiency, while sensitively balancing members’ needs with public access and revenue generation, ensuring the charity’s long-term social, environmental, financial sustainability.
195 Piccadilly, the charity’s home since 1974, was built in 1883 as the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colour (JMW Turner’s bust on the façade) when snubbed by the neighbouring Royal Academy. Its size, layout, and failing services severely limited BAFTA’s delivery of ever-widening charitable programs. A New Crown Estate lease beyond its 100th anniversary prompted the commissioning of Benedetti Architects as architects & interior designers. Funded by donations/reserves, BAFTA has no government subsidy.
The 2,050m² listed building was tired, unfit for purpose, and expensive to run/maintain. Benedetti Architects' design creates 2,465m² of state-of-the-art spaces with maximum flexibility, balancing the charity’s educational work with members’ needs and revenue. At its heart is the Learning and New Talent floor, core to the charity’s mission, enabling the inspiration, support, and training of diverse young creatives in Film/Games/TV.
The design significantly increases usable area, doubling capacity and WCs, with entirely new infrastructure, fire safety, energy performance, acoustics, thermal comfort, and useability. Unifying interior design enhances BAFTA’s unique character celebrating its historic assets of Benedetti Architects' inventive re-working of various combinations of spaces, volumes, views, and sequential movement enabling robust charitable/commercial adaptability with opportunities for theatrical reveals/special events, securing the charity’s long-term social and financial sustainability.
The most strikingly revelatory aspect of the design is a new top floor that restores/raises/re-integrates two huge 1883 Victorian roof light spaces and decorative plasterwork, blocked for more than 40 years and considered lost. The historic plasterwork/structures, lifted 3m and enclosed with innovative high-performance ‘Eyrise’ smart glazing (first UK use), create the new top floor with spectacular views over St James’s Church and garden. Another UK first-use is Benedetti Architects' 3D-printed ‘wear pure. tech’ airborne-carbon reducing bar/screen, highlighting sustainability to young visitors on the Learning/New-Talent floor.
EPC benchmark rating improved “G” to “B”, with ±73% carbon reduction from ±155 to ±42 kg/CO2/m², thus saving ±292 tonnes of carbon/year.
The project comprises spaces including the 227-seat Princess Anne cinema/theatre (with Dolby Atmos, ensuring it’s the UK’s finest), a new 41-seat cinema/theatre, banqueting hall, 4 kitchens, multi-purpose event/exhibition spaces, members’ bar/restaurant area, new skylit boardroom re-using historic materials found during construction, complementing our bespoke new table/chairs, judging/meeting rooms, staff welfare/offices, and new terraces overlooking Piccadilly and St. James’s Churchyard.
The project incorporates a pared-down palette of classic, durable, sustainably sourced materials in varying textures, highly crafted in a suite of bespoke detailing, increasing refinement on successive floors to top-floor ‘crescendo’.
It also features futureproofing via robust flexibility, functionality, and financial efficiency, driving massive growth of learning/new-talent development programs, resulting in ±10,000,000 learners/year engaged online, equipping ±80,000 people/year with tools for film/games/TV careers, and ±500/year talented individuals’ tailored support.
The project was completed through close collaboration with clients/consultants; partnering agreements with innovative firms like Dolby, Christie, Merck, Noumena, etc. and proactively engaged contractors during 2.5 years of construction through COVID-19. The £25 million project was completed on time & budget in September 2022 for commissioning/training, with a public opening in January 2023.
In BAFTA’s press release for the opening event, HRH The Duke of Cambridge & President of BAFTA said, “I am hugely proud of BAFTA’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that young talent from all walks of life is given every possible opportunity to build and develop successful careers in the film, games, and television industries. The redevelopment of 195 Piccadilly has created fantastic new learning spaces to ensure that future generations can receive the support they need to thrive."
Amanda Berry OBE, BAFTA’s Chief Executive
”BAFTA’s home at 195 Piccadilly has been reimagined with a stunning expansion and redesign by Benedetti Architects, creating a world-class centre for new talent and a vital investment in the creative future of our industries. The redevelopment will provide BAFTA with a dedicated learning space for the very first time, enabling a dramatic increase in the year-round work we do to find and support new talent, both in the UK and globally. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Benedetti Architects over the past eight years to define this important new chapter in BAFTA’s history."
Kevin Price – BAFTA’s Chief Operating Officer
”BAFTA 195 Piccadilly is an international centre of excellence for the creative arts. We’re delighted with Benedetti Architects’ innovative design, which re-invents and expands the listed building to greatly enhance our charitable activities while being sensitive to the historic character members are so fond of. They were terrific to work with and their spectacular re-design integrating state-of-the-art technology and cost-in-use efficiency, while creatively balancing members’ needs with public access and revenue potential, ensures BAFTA’s long-term economic, social, and environmental sustainability."
Dame Pippa Harris, Previous BAFTA Chair of the Academy
”We are delighted to have been able to work with Benedetti Architects to give BAFTA 195 Piccadilly a new lease of life. Their beautifully tailored, bespoke design is a testament to their commitment over the last 8 years, and it marks a stunning achievement in the arts charity's history as BAFTA continues to inspire, support, and celebrate the next generations of talent in the creative arts."
Krishnendu Majumdar, BAFTA Chair of the Academy
”In this year of BAFTA’s 75th anniversary, I'm excited about all we will accomplish by reopening our historic 195 Piccadilly home. Benedetti Architects’ redesign has elegantly and innovatively transformed the spaces and doubled the capacity, enabling BAFTA to inspire and support more talented young people than ever before. The reinvention of the building is a triumph and deserves to win awards for the way it facilitates our initiatives and mentorship programs, enabling emerging talent from underrepresented groups to access all the screen arts.”
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