Hamilton Kerr Institute

The client

The Hamilton Kerr Institute is one of the world’s leading centres for teaching and research in the conservation of easel paintings. The Institute, a department of the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, also undertakes research into conservation techniques, materials and techniques of paintings, disseminating the results through publications, seminars and conferences.

The brief

We were initially tasked with doing a standard office fit-out for the client. However, as the relationship with the client developed, the scope of work increased.

The client decided to rely on our expertise to design, procure and deliver equipment for their highly specialised rooms. As a result, the complete brief for this project was to create an office and work environment suited for the client’s operations, the restoration of paintings and the needed teaching facilities.

The challenges 

Fire compliance

As the space the client was moving into was a demise within a university-owned space, it was not set up to be used independently. As a result, our team added a fire curtain to the perimeter of the tenancy, making it compliant with building regulations and with the university’s own fire system.

Circulation constraints

The door to the main entrance as well as all internal doors had to be replaced. This was to allow for the free movement of very large art pieces into and within the space as well as to ensure the space was compliant with the Equality Act.

Design considerations

Due to the highly specialised nature of the rooms required, the design process was quite nuanced and required extensive liaising with subcontractors. As part of our normal design process, our design team spent time getting to know the client to understand, in as much as possible, their day-to-day activities and how they aimed to utilise the space.

From there, it became clear that one of the client’s main aims was to create a space that would mimic the space the workforce was previously occupying.

Based on the client’s brief, planned use of the space and budget requirements, our design team, worked with the base build as much as possible. This resulted in the retention of a large portion of the existing rooms.

A high level of collaboration and coordination was required from our team to ensure any rooms being left in situ would be fit for purpose.

Working within an occupied building

The building where this project took place was highly populated and so our teams worked extensively with the landlord and all subcontractors to minimise any disruptions.

Some of the measures taken included:

• Maintaining a high level of engagement with the landlord.
• Tight control over the access to the site.
• Conducting noisy work out of hours.
• Effectively communicating with the building maintenance manager so tenants could be notified of ongoing work.

The outcome

The entire COEL team is incredibly pleased with the outcome of this project, having been an honour to work in a building that holds so much history.