The new Chelsea Academy, opened in September 2010, features modern teaching spaces and well-equipped facilities designed by UK-based Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBS). The school features a five-storey tower and a two- to three-storey accommodation block, sports hall, science laboratories, theatre space and restaurant.
Situated on a constrained site, the school is integrated with creative use of outdoor spaces at different levels throughout the complex. Advanced Interiors undertook all the internal fit-out including ceilings, plastering, drylining, Metsec and render work. Bespoke elements of the project include SAS system 150 specialist rafts to increase acoustic performance in certain areas; Ecophon Super G panels in the hall areas to increase acoustic reverberation; and Quattro 41 in the lightwells to create a seamless transition with other products.
Kelly Overall, MD at Advanced Interiors commented that the Chelsea Academy project posed real challenge to them in many aspects. Congested site location and access, typical of inner London, made project logistics difficult. The plastering and panelling work in particular required real experts at hand to accommodate the bespoke ceilings and rafts, some of which had to be redesigned on site to accommodate structural concrete columns. The firm has altered the design layout with the help of Ecophon panels, so that the acoustic coverage could be maintained.
Advanced Interiors was awarded the fit-out of the project by Wates as one of their ‘Closer to Fewer’ key supply chain partners and has been working on site for fourteen months with the scheme completed ahead of the start of the 2010/11 academic year.
Wates Construction served as the main contractor for the scheme. It is the first school to be built in Chelsea for over 60 years and was sponsored by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF), the Diocese of London and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Advanced Interiors is part of the HSi Interiors Group of companies which currently includes AT Jones of Fareham and Adex Interiors of Hemel Hempstead.
