The Empire

About this project

The Property

The Empire was an established Coventry-based live music venue with a capacity of 600. With the lease period ending, the management team decided new premises were required to grow the business.

Working with the Coventry Council team, a larger venue was identified, which could increase capacity to 1500. However, having been a former cinema and then a retail shop, the relocation of the New HMV Empire would entail a change of function and numerous design and construction challenges.

The Challenges

The New HMV Empire was designed to be a multi-use venue capable of hosting national and international live music acts, DJs and club events, cinema, comedy, conferences, and private functions.

After numerous meetings with the empire, and despite stiff competition for this contract, we were assigned the task of delivering this ambitious project, which excited the MPD team about the challenge ahead.

Almost immediately, a slew of major issues arose, including the arrival of COVID-19 and all of the problems it entailed, such as staff and material shortages.

The primary design consideration for a music venue was acoustics. Due to its former use, the building's acoustics would need to be improved. Unfortunately, after extensive testing, the sound was escaping at unacceptable levels for their licence to be granted. As a result, we had to replan and redesign significant elements of the building and use specialised acoustic experts, materials, and products to help with the reduction in levels.

The Result

We were under a lot of pressure to complete everything by the deadline set by the launch of the City of Culture, which was just 20 weeks away.

The MPD team was committed to success for the New Empire. We completed this project on schedule, with excellent quality, and fully participated. The Empire is now a thriving venue and the destination for live music and events in Coventry and the surrounding area.

As a business in Coventry, we were proud to help bring a building that had been abandoned back to life and give a forgotten part of town a new focus.

Project Highlights

Overcoming the acoustic challenges with the nature of the building and not compromising the look and feel of the new venue
Delivering a project in a busy city centre on multiple levels on time, safely and professionally during a global pandemic
Bringing a forgotten balcony back to life with full-length bi-folding doors and frameless glass balcony
Creating an award-winning bar
Installing upcycled materials to create unique features throughout the venue
Achieving our goal of delivering the venue back to the client in time to fulfil its promise of being a pivotal venue for Coventry during the City of Culture