Donald Insall Associates was appointed by Mace on behalf of SOAS as historic buildings consultants and conservation architects to assist with the ‘SOAS into Senate House’ project, which included the complete refurbishment of the north block of the Grade II* listed Senate House into the school’s new state-of-the-art headquarters through the introduction of a new courtyard atrium, new building services, and restoration of Charles Holden’s original scheme for the building.

We were initially commissioned to produce a Historic Buildings Report for the scheme’s listed building consent application and provide advice throughout the pre-application and application processes, alongside undertaking a comprehensive Condition Survey of the building’s exterior and surviving historic interior fabric. This informed the production of a set of repair drawings, schedules and specifications for tender. We were retained by the project to oversee the discharge of listed building consent conditions: works to the facade and interior finishes, the junction between the new glazed roof existing elevations, and sensitive adaptations to existing fabric so as to accommodate new services. We worked closely with Camden Council, Historic England and the rest of the design team to ensure heritage; the new design was fully coordinated and the planning process progressed in line with the project programme.