Durham Miner’s Hall

The DMA were seeking to conserve, remodel and extend the Miner’s Hall, which was built between 1913-15 using the contributions of miners in the Durham coalfield, through an NHLF funded project to preserve it as the heart of the mining community in the county.

The project included the construction of a significant extension to enable the building to act as a venue for performances and conferences whilst making the famous Pitman’s Parliament accessible to all.

Other parts of the building offer meeting room and office accommodation whilst a new interactive exhibition will explain the history of the world’s largest ever coalfield.

TGA have designed innovative ventilation and heating systems making use of ground source heat pumps, underfloor heating systems and displacement ventilation systems to improve environmental conditions in the Pitman’s Parliament whilst minimising the use of energy and associated carbon emissions.

Our Building Performance team modelled the building and advised on sympathetic improvements to the building fabric and glazing systems in both the new build and historic parts of the project, whilst our Specialist Lighting designers developed proposals to effectively light the various spaces with a mix of contemporary and period luminaires. Some of the original lighting fixtures were reused as part of the scheme with refurbished glass diffusers and new LED technology being utilised.

Our M&E Engineers have developed means by which modern building engineering systems can be sensitively incorporated into the evolving design working closely with the wider Design Team.