Susie Sainsbury Theatre Foyer, Royal Academy of Music

A beautifully crafted Theatre Foyer now provides a fitting entrance to the Susie Sainsbury Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music.

iRAL were invited to provide proposals for the enhancement of the Theatre Foyer, having completed the hugely successful Susie Sainsbury Theatre and Angela Burgess Recital Hall in 2018. The new Theatre Foyer reinstates the original proportions of the 1911 room, replacing the former Harp Room and removing the concrete staircase to the 1970s theatre.

High-quality and high-performance materials were installed throughout with micro-perforated wood panelling on the walls and marble mosaic on the floor. The micro-perforated wood panelling ensures excellent acoustics within the Theatre Foyer whilst also referencing the original wood panelling in the Academy’s Board Room on the 1st floor and introducing the feel of the new theatre beyond. The new marble mosaic floor takes inspiration from the original 1911 mosaic in the entrance to the Duke’s Hall and consists of 648 individual ‘fans’, each one assembled from 282 hand-cut white Carrara marble tesserae, which were prefabricated and installed by London Mosaic. New seating has been installed in the form of two benches neatly integrated within the wood panelling, as well as additional wall lighting and a new illuminated display panel.

In addition to architectural services, iRAL provided cost reports, obtained all tenders and project managed from inception to completion. The contractor was James Johnson & Co Ltd who provided all joinery works with lighting and electrical services provided by Push The Button, continuing our successful relationship with both companies from the Royal Academy of Music’s Theatre and new Recital Hall project, completed in Jan 2018. The Theatre Foyer welcomed its first guests for short periods during Covid in 2020.