Synopsis
Milton Court and The Heron is a major development in the City of London. Milton Court is a new facility for the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, that includes a world-class concert hall, two theatres, rehearsal rooms and office space. The Heron is a 36 storey residential tower, rising above Milton Court. This paper shows how spatial requirements for the various intended uses have been accommodated and fitted together. The resulting arrangement maximises the value of this relatively small site. Foundation and substructure design is described, together with the methodology used to construct the basement. Reasons are given for developing the selection of a hybrid superstructure consisting of plain reinforced concrete, post tensioned concrete and structural steel. Acoustic considerations were extremely important in the design of the performance spaces and design strategies adopted are explained. Programme and sustainability were of course important factors and the approach to site safety was given a great deal of attention.