Brixton House Theatre

Client London Borough of Lambeth

Sector Commercial

Location London

Value £37m

Located in the heart of Brixton stands Brixton House, a new home for Ovalhouse Theatre, internationally renowned for pioneering fringe theatre and the proving ground for many famous faces, including Pierce Brosnan, Tamsin Grieg, and Tim Roth.

With extensive theatre experience, Galliford Try was appointed through Southern Construction Framework (SCF) to deliver this modern, purpose-built arts and community destination – the first phase of the wider regeneration of Somerleyton Road.

The facility houses two fully accessible theatres (120 and 200 seating capacity), seven flexible rehearsal rooms and a creative hub with large public café. The refurbishment of the joining, locally listed, Victorian red brick, Carlton Mansions, to create workspaces for the creative industry was also included in this transformative development.

Surrounded by busy residential streets and a railway line, all while sitting atop a Victoria Line underground siding, it’s no surprise this project required extensive collaboration, negotiation of intricate party-wall and land ownership issues, and complex construction logistics. In addition, much of the project coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns, requiring active management of resource and material difficulties.

Galliford Try was commended for our open-book approach and creating a ‘one team’ culture among the client and project teams and won Winner Supply Chain Partner of the Year Award 2022 by Southern Construction Framework.

Galliford Try understands the importance of maintaining teams of collaborators where possible. These projects are unusual, and there is tremendous benefit in developing existing team experience to hone the design and maximise benefit to the client within the budget and programme.” Alex Wardle Charcoal Blue (Studio Design Specialists)
The support your staff gave and continue to give is providing our team and our stakeholders with hope and enthusiasm for the future. Furthermore, adapting our new home at this late stage to cope with COVD-19 is a real credit to your dedicated team. A sincere thank you.” Gary Johnson Executive Director, Brixton House