2025 MASTER BUILDER AWARDS
R & M Williams Limited in Wales was named Overall National Winner and took home the prize in the Commercial or Public Sector Project category for its transformative work on the Palace Theatre in Swansea. Project overview Built in 1888, the Grade II listed building is Wales’ oldest surviving theatre. But after years of standing empty, the derelict six- storey property required a sympathetic transformation blending modern city needs and its theatrical character. Now it is a unique events and work space, home to the independent coffee shop ‘Da’, and situated for car-free access through excellent public transport links. Project highlights Its Grade II listed status required close collaboration with Cadw (the Welsh historic environment service) to retain the theatre’s character while upgrading it to a modern office space. This involved: ● careful strip-out: cataloguing, and sharing features with the council’s appointed Specialist Conservation Architect, retaining and reusing salvageable elements – including Ebbw Vale bricks, theatre equipment such as a dimmer switch, stage equipment, and gas lamps, cast iron balustrades, masonry, and the sun burner. Roof trusses were carefully spliced; and ● sympathetic reinstatement : previously removed elements were sensitively reinstated, such as the conical roof and canopies to doors (previously removed, in line with historical photographs) and the proscenium arch to the stage.
Overall National Winner and Commercial or Public Sector Project R & M Williams Limited
Challenges that were overcome Limited pre-start access meant the design had to be finalised during construction, following discoveries of a well, a hidden staircase, and blocked-up doors. The design accounted for existing roof truss interfaces and supports, aligning them for the rotunda, parapet walls, and new steel trusses. Walls – 400mm thick – needed passive fire protection with Building Control sign-off. Modern mechanical ventilation integration demanded complex routing, avoiding new penetrations and avoiding existing ones. The historic filler joist floor construction made new interventions complex, requiring delicate demolition and creative insertions. A scaffolding fixing method – without external tying-in – meant collaboration was key among the designer, contractor and heritage officer. Constraints such as existing floor plates and internal propping limited work areas, requiring out-of-sequence construction programmes. The roof with top-hat scaffold was kept open for structural steels craning onto prepared padstones/concrete slab. The business managed to divert 93 per cent of waste from landfill by retaining, reusing and recycling materials wherever possible. From the judges ● “This is the story of a fine historic building rescued from the brink of terminal decline.” ● “Despite the challenges, this was achieved whilst adding considerable social value.”
Commercial or Public Sector Project sponsored by
25
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