The lean renovation of the south London arts organisation’s home was achieved at a total construction cost of just £1.8 million, a testament to the intelligent use of BIM in keeping costs down.  Rob Wilson visited. Photography by Maris Mazulis

9 February 2022 · By Rob Wilson

Matheson Whiteley has long exhibited a deft touch when it comes to art spaces – in projects that have included commercial galleries such as Modern Art, public art institutions like Kunstlerhaus Stuttgart and artist studios such as that for Ryan Gander.

Negotiating the tricky territory between the twin art space tropes of white cube and the ‘found’ industrial space – where in less sure hands the architecture’s ‘pureness’ or ‘rawness’ ends up competing with the art – Matheson Whiteley’s approach has been to ‘to dial down’ the architecture where possible.

This can be seen in its recently completed renovation of Studio Voltaire, a not-for-profit arts organisation in south London, its first public commission in the UK, which it won in a 2017 competition run in collaboration with the Architecture Foundation.

Set up in the early 90s, Studio Voltaire occupied an old chapel and several light-industrial sheds, accommodating a gallery and series of artist studios. The competition called for the reorganisation and upgrading of these facilities, environmentally and physically, while giving the organisation a more public face.

As such, Matheson Whiteley’s design has seen the provision of a new public entrance, café and retail space alongside expanded exhibition and education facilities as well as studio space. The latter was increased by 42 per cent, reflecting the addition of the main new element in the scheme: a mezzanine floor, which was enabled by a relatively slight adjustment in the roof profile.

Thermally, the whole envelope has been upgraded, with a new insulated concrete slab incorporating underfloor heating laid over the old uneven slab and a new insulated aluminium standing seam roof.

All this was achieved at a remarkably lean construction cost of £1.8 million, given the nearly 1,500m2 footprint. This figure was possible not because this retrofit project was particularly light-touch but, in some ways, due to the opposite: the almost forensic analysis of the existing building’s fabric, which was digitally scanned and BIM modelled at the start of construction by the contractor, Work.

This followed a tendering process where BIM capability was a key consideration in the contractor’s appointment. Work’s digital BIM twin drew on Matheson Whiteley’s stage 4 IFC model – with the BIM model further developed through the construction phase from strip-out onwards. It was an approach and process that was clearly successful – co-director Jason Whiteley describes working with the contractor as ‘a completely collaborative effort’ – and it was one that helped cut costs. ‘It was BIM that enabled the main focus during stage 4 and 5 to be the release of value by making the construction process as lean and efficient as possible,’ Whitely says. This bore obvious sustainability benefits too; bearing down on embodied carbon by avoiding any unnecessary replacement of structure while also reducing waste too.

The entrance to both the gallery and studios has been relocated to the site’s south-east corner, via a new courtyard garden space created out of an old service yard – the entrance accessible 24-hours via a side-gate by all the artists with studios.

The design of the garden was itself an artist’s commission, by Turner-shortlisted Anthea Hamilton. It’s richly textural with crazy paving, a glazed-tile fountain basin and pebble-lined raised beds. This makes for an enjoyably tactile and sensual threshold to the more elemental, pared-back feeling of the interior, which you enter down a slope (ironing out the small change of level accessibly without recourse to steps) through a generous glazed screen of doors, leading into the entrance lobby. In all, it inverts the usual expectation of art as more temporary and lightweight set against more weighty architecture.

The entrance lobby is a low, spreading space, sitting under the newly created mezzanine floor.

‘We wanted to open up the front as much as possible and bring people deep into the scheme,’ says Whiteley’s fellow director Donald Matheson. ‘The idea was to make “active space’”, creating spaces for collaboration and gathering, as there had been very few of these before.’

Indeed, the lobby on plan acts rather like a public town square. Doubling up as a café, it’s a place of orientation to the different parts of the building, with routes leading off from it. Straight ahead, a door takes you through to the studios, while on the left sits a small shop: House of Voltaire, a permanent home for this previously pop-up space, which sells limited-run artist-designed work. To the left of this is the entrance to the main gallery in the converted chapel. A short corridor beyond serves an education and participation space, light flooding in from a small adjacent courtyard.

While finishes and surfaces are kept relatively neutral, the lobby’s structuring is still characterful: its elements and structure not exactly picked out but concisely elucidated: from the slim steel ceiling girders to the lighting tracks and the whitewashed sheets of OSB lining the walls. It feels like a defined palette of parts – as though a reflection in built form of the clarity possible in 3D Revit modelling.

Similarly, in the main gallery, the elements of white walls, blackened timber roof trusses above and slightly mottled concrete floor are delineated simply and graphically, making for an art space that is neutral yet idiosyncratic.

A vivid material contrast is set up in the toilets, which are unexpectedly the site of another artist commission, this one designed by Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan and lined in a joyous riot of large vividly coloured tiles. It’s another example of what Studio Voltaire’s director Joe Scotland describes as ‘embedding commissioning history’ in the building.

The sense of the layout on plan being akin to that of a small town continues with the 36 studio spaces, which range from 9m2 to 40m2, reading like a small residential quarter, each sitting off short street-like corridors centred around the smaller campiello-like space of an artist’s kitchen and sink.

The open flow of space, without the necessity for fire doors, was enabled through early engagement with building control on the carefully worked-out fire strategy which ensured sufficient means of escape to avoid fire-rated corridors. Freeing up the partitions from the requirement to be fire-rated, sees them kept as a simple sandwich of expressed parts, easily demountable and minimally finished.

Significant material savings followed too, with the OSB board only needing to be full height to one side of a partition while additionally the cutting of sheets was avoided where possible, so minimising waste. As practical armatures for space division, acoustic baffling and coursing service runs, the practical, adaptable corralling of spaces that the partition walls provide certainly contributes to the sense of ‘active space’ Matheson talks about, perceptually different from the often muffled feel of partitioned studio spaces.

The two studios that provide artist accommodation, however, required more demanding fire requirements, so they have been placed along the northern external wall, with each having its own direct means of escape.

At ceiling level, the existing purlins have been reused, lending a delicate structural language below the new steel liner deck above. Things are kept simple, with strips of skylights allowing all studios to have natural light as well as good natural ventilation through openable hoppers. Indeed, there's a sense of openness and airiness to the whole scheme, with glazed openings placed on the axes of corridors as well as at the turn of the new stairs up to the mezzanine, where smaller studio spaces are accommodated.

This project was one of lean process and lean material – there’s a sense of a clarifying of what was key and a whittling away of what was not important. This is architecture as a lightweight armature; a calibrated frame for the human actions and interactions within. The early precision-analysis of the building has resulted conversely in what feels like a flexible loose-fit conversion, one that still channels the spirit of the original shed-as-art-studio model.

Studio Voltaire was established in 1994 by a collective of artists and creatives. It has since grown to become one of the UK’s leading not-for-profit arts organisations. In 2016, Matheson Whiteley won an invited competition to redevelop the Studio Voltaire site, a collection of former industrial and religious buildings in Clapham, south London.

The project treats the existing buildings like infrastructure in need of renewal. Every building element was examined to determine whether to replace, repair or renew. The ambition was to maximise and extend the potential of the existing buildings while visually dialling back new interventions so that the architectural expression of the project derives from the energy of the artists and their activities.

During the competition stage, it became clear that the existing roofs needed replacing. At the same time, we noticed that a small adjustment to the existing roof geometry could generate enough volume for a new mezzanine level, dramatically increasing the amount of artist studio space for the same amount of money.

We were also surprised to discover the wide range of artistic activities supported by Studio Voltaire. Most of this activity was invisible to the public, hidden by labyrinthine corridors and a lack of communal space. By rationalising circulation, we were able to create new shared spaces which make visible the full range of Studio Voltaire activities.

The entrance is marked by a new public garden designed by the artist Anthea Hamilton. This is formed from an existing service yard and becomes the first space in a network of public and semi-public rooms connected by long vistas. These public spaces become like internal streets, providing orientation, level access, a clue to the scale of the site, awareness of the weather and glimpses of different activities.

The new reception is imagined as a mixing chamber for artists, gallery visitors and the local community. It is a horizontal space, with two parallel steel trusses low enough to touch. The reception contains a café, spaces for public use, a permanent retail area for House of Voltaire and access to the refurbished chapel gallery. Nearby public toilets are a commission by artists Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan.

Beyond the reception is the Artist’s Kitchen, a communal space for studio artists at the crossroads of two key circulation routes. In contrast to the entrance, this space is tall and lit from above. A large stainless-steel artist sink creates a focal point for studio activity.

The building provides 36 artist studios in a range of sizes from 9 to 40m². Each studio is unique, with the character deriving from the existing structure, along with natural daylight and ventilation. Jason Whiteley, director, Matheson Whiteley

Primary thermal elements consist of a new insulated polished concrete slab with underfloor heating and a new insulated long-run aluminium standing-seam roof. Existing perimeter masonry is also insulated. The aluminium roof is unfinished, providing a dull reflective surface that changes according to the weather.

By carefully considering means of escape, the fire strategy does not require studio partition walls to be fire rated. This ensures future flexibility as walls can be adjusted in the future if needed. Partitions consist of commercial metal framing with batten-hung OSB panels, whitewashed to emphasise their texture. Services are run directly within the metal framing, simplifying containment. The panels provide an appropriate support to studio activity and can be easily replaced if damaged or reconfigured as required in the future.

Project delivery has been enabled by the experimental use of building information modelling (BIM). This involved a shared period of close collaboration with the contractor, Work, which has significant experience with digital construction. The existing buildings were first scanned and then digitised to create a single modelling environment. The client, design consultant and construction team then worked together within the modelling environment to develop a digital twin for construction.

Instead of traditional paper or electronic 2D drawings, site construction teams were issued tablets containing the digital model and worked directly from 3D information. Construction packages were procured and then constructed directly from fully co-ordinated 3D information.

This approach allowed the project team to work through design and technical aspects of construction well in advance of site activity, reducing waste and allowing more precise and error-free procurement and construction. This proved to be an effective method of remote working during the pandemic, allowing the project to be delivered within the original contract period.

In aggregate, the reduction in waste and error on site released significant value. This value was returned to the project, delivering tangible upgrades during construction, including the concrete slab, precast concrete stairs and a doubling of the amount of rooflights. Jason Whiteley, director, Matheson Whiteley

Studio Voltaire is one of the UK’s leading not-for-profit arts organisations. It was established in 1994 by a collective of artists and creatives who set up a studio within a disused tram shed in Clapham. We moved to our current home on Nelsons Row, a group of former industrial and religious buildings, in the late 1990s. This enabled the organisation to expand its offer to audiences through a gallery space and increased engagement with the local area with community partnerships.

Although we were very fond of the character and feeling of the existing buildings, they were no longer fit for purpose. The old buildings were in desperate need of repair, and moreover, the building was not fulfilling its full potential. We were keen for the buildings to integrate more with the local area and become more porous. New windows and entrance ways have created vistas and sight-lines across the entire building, visually linking the institution to its immediate neighbours. New public spaces such as a café, courtyard garden and learning spaces were created as a way of significantly extending our offer to local audiences.

Support for artists was a key driver in all our decision-making. We wanted to have the maximum amount of purpose-built workspace for artists. Studios in London are typically cold, poor quality and cheaply put together. We were keen to give artists the high-quality spaces they deserved. Our onsite artists now benefit from their own kitchen and social space, production workshop and two live/work units for international and regional residencies.

Typical of many London sites, Studio Voltaire’s buildings are a combination of different styles and periods of architecture that have been patchworked together over the years and repurposed for different uses. We were keen to keep this aspect and work with our existing buildings. As well as having economical and environmental benefits, we felt that people feel very comfortable in these kinds of spaces. Two permanent artists’ commissions within the public garden and toilets further added to this sense of layering of styles and materials and added a counterpoint to the architect’s design.

We have enjoyed a positive client relationship with Matheson Whiteley over this period. From the outset, the architects had a very good sense of what we needed as an organisation and fully responded to our requirements. We were drawn to their approach as it was in many ways less ego-driven. The design process was fundamentally led by what we needed as a client and importantly what the building itself called for. We were keen for new elements to sit alongside the older elements in an honest way, maintaining its character and histories. The resulting building is understated, considered and generous. Joe Scotland, director, Studio Voltaire

Work is a technology-enabled design studio and contractor and has a history of working on cultural projects, especially art galleries. Work is committed to a custom made world and a waste-free future.

The Studio Voltaire project was won through a traditional tender process. The start of work coincided with the beginning of the first lockdown period due to the pandemic. However, as we have been using and developing digital tools for close to 20 years, neither the design nor the construction were hindered through lack of information or communication as our systems are all cloud based.

The buildings were point cloud scanned on multiple occasions to allow for the construction of a precise VDC+Q (virtual design for construction with quantities) model. Each proposed element was accurately modelled in 3D and then added to the design model. Our approach is unusual in that we take a highly granular approach, down to the level of individual nuts and bolts. We fully co-ordinate architecture with structural engineering and MEP. The completed model is therefore highly detailed and eliminates the need for multiple 2D paper drawing sets. All schedules, plans sections and elevations are co-ordinated and automated from a single model. The resulting information is then used to enable a high level of understanding between the design team and the constructors. During construction, the workforce use iPads and iPhones to access the model and our other cloud-based systems. Site visits were cut to a minimum while the budget and the timeline were maintained. The building was delivered exactly to the expectation of the design team.

There was only a minimum of waste generated at this site as all material schedules were precisely and accurately derived from the model. This is a paradigm shift when compared to how buildings are traditionally delivered. Dara Khera, director, Work

The ambition for the artist studios was to provide well-proportioned daylit spaces with a robust method of construction that would allow for easy repair and reconfiguration.

A new insulated concrete slab was poured above the existing uneven slab, with underfloor heating to avoid plumbing and mechanical services being run through studio partitions. Continuous linear skylights in the new roof provide daylight and natural ventilation to each studio space.

The layout was carefully planned so that partitions between studios did not require fire rating. This kept the detailing simple and ensures future flexibility.

The studio partitions are built from OSB panels, hung on concealed split batten fixings from lightweight metal framing. The OSB panels were prepared with a whitewash finish to provide a good presentation surface for artwork and are robust enough to survive the wear and tear of daily studio use. This eliminated the need for follow-on wet trades, accelerating the construction process on site. As a future benefit, the panels can easily and inexpensively be lifted off and replaced if required.

During construction, the building was 3D scanned by the contractor to generate a point cloud survey. This information was overlaid with the BIM model to allow precise co-ordination of stud locations, OSB panel layouts and cutting schedules with the existing structural configuration.

The panel layouts use as many full sheets as possible to minimise cutting and waste. Partitions are clad from floor-to-roof on one side to provide enclosure to the studios, but only to a single board height on the second side to reduce cost and material use. Architecturally this creates a horizontal datums which unifies the various spaces.

Electrical service routes were defined at an early stage and the position of sockets and switches is standardised in each studio. This meant that during construction, a standard template could be used for positioning first-fix elements and for cutting backboxes. The open partition construction allows studs and electrical service routes to be seen, which will assist the building users when making fixings into the walls or planning future changes to the layout and services. James Bailey, associate, Matheson Whiteley

Start on site August 2020 Completion October 2021 Gross internal floor area 1,360m2 Gross (internal + external) floor area 1,480m2 Construction cost £1.8 million (total project cost: £2.8 million) Construction cost per m2£1,216 Architect Matheson Whiteley Client Studio Voltaire Board of Trustees Structural engineer Structure Workshop M&E consultant Richie & Daffin, Greengauge Quantity surveyor Stockdale Principal designer Meridian Consulting Approved building inspector Meridian Consulting Acoustic consultant Ion Acoustics  Planning consultant DP9 Identity and wayfinding A Practice for Everyday Life Access consultant People Friendly Design Main contractor Work CAD software used Revit Annual CO2 emissions 30 kgCO2/m2 (estimated) 

On-site energy generation Not available Heating and hot water load Not available Total energy load Not available Carbon emissions (all) 30 kgCO2/m2 (estimated) Airtightness at 50Pa Not tested Embodied/whole-life carbon 90 kgCO2/m2 (estimated) Predicted design life 60 years

Tags Arts complex BIM Clapham matheson whiteley Studio

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