A highly sustainable, professional‑grade performance A highly sustainable, professional‑grade performance and creative hub.

An EPC ‘A' rated cultural hub with a 400-seat auditorium, rehearsal, teaching, and support spaces. Key features include ground source heat pumps, a hybrid ventilation system, and a 13 KW PV array. Winner of the 2019 RIBA National and RIBA East Awards.

Set within the historic grounds of The Perse School in Cambridge, the new Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre (PAC) honours its namesake through artistic and environmental excellence. Conceived as a social heart for the campus, its triple-height galleried foyer serves as a café by day and a gathering space by night. The building includes a flexible 400-seat auditorium, daylight-filled studios, and full back-of-house facilities. Skelly & Couch delivered the full MEP design for the professional-grade theatre, ensuring exceptional comfort, energy efficiency, and performance. The project achieved an EPC ‘A' rating and won RIBA National and East awards.

A glazed façade brings abundant natural light into the foyer and interior spaces, establishing a visual connection with the courtyard ahead, while the auditorium also maintains a strong link to the outdoors through daylighting and views to the greenery behind.

Comfort and efficiency are further enhanced by a ground source heat pump that supplies efficient, year-round heating and cooling. Optimal air quality is maintained through automated windows and a mechanical ventilation system, partly powered by a 13kW rooftop PV array, cutting emissions and reducing reliance on the grid.

For over 80% of the year, the auditorium relies on silent, natural ventilation via under-seat plenums. Warm air rises and is exhausted through two large, attenuated chimneys, preserving acoustic isolation. Mechanical ventilation activates only during full-capacity performances.  This sophisticated sustainable design merges aesthetic appeal with practical performance to create an environment that is both comfortable and conducive to the arts.

At the heart of the school community, the Peter Hall PAC breathes life into theatre through its strategic embrace of sustainability—nurturing a space where future voices rise, explore, and shine.

Awards

2019 RIBA National Award Winner
2019 RIBA National Award Winner
2019 RIBA East Award Winner
2020 Cambridge Design & Construction Best New Building Award (over £2m) Commendation
2020 Cambridge Design & Contruction Craftsmanship Award Winner
2020 Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award Winner