Stoke Newington Town Hall
Following major restoration work to bring it back to its former glory,
Stoke Newington Town Hall reopened to the public today, 1st
February 2010. Hawkins\Brown was commissioned by Hackney Council and
worked closely with English Heritage, including consultation with
the local community and stakeholder groups, to fully refurbish and
bring the much loved civic building back into the heart of the local
community, providing a unique and historic setting for events.
The Grade II listed Art Deco building, designed by J. Reginald
Truelove and built in the 1930s, has been carefully restored and
refurbished to preserve its original features whilst providing flexible
spaces with state-of-the-art audio visual and technical facilities.
The historic building will provide two unique spaces for community
use and private hire: the Council Chamber and Assembly Hall.
The restoration project, which began in June 2008, is being funded
by Hackney Council and complements other projects in the area to
provide improved facilities for local people, such as the restoration
of Clissold Park and House.
Deputy Mayor of Hackney, Cllr Karen Alcock, said: "Hackney
Council is delighted that the restoration of Stoke Newington Town
Hall has been successfully completed, bringing back into the heart
of the community a well loved and much missed landmark. We look
forward to welcoming local residents, community groups and
visitors to this wonderful venue to enjoy an exciting range of events,
to celebrate weddings, birthdays and other milestones, and much
more."
John Turner, Director, Hawkins Brown, said: "It's pleasing that the
team at Hawkins Brown has been able to help bring back to life a
sleeping beauty and to re-discover layers of its colourful heritage.
I believe the people of Hackney and beyond will enjoy the
modernised facilities and exciting opportunities that the building now
opens up once again.
This has been a fantastic project for our architectural practice to put
its name to and it is a testament to all those involved that this
landmark project has reached completion on schedule."
A new contemporary entrance and reception foyer of bespoke
precast decorative concrete cladding and sealed glazed walls and
roof has been created in a former passageway and store area to
unify the two spaces. The addition of new lifts and external ramps
makes the building more accessible.
The reception incorporates historical elements of the building,
including the exposed brickwork of a Tudor mansion that originally
stood on the site. Carefully preserved camouflaged paintwork on
the external walls, is surviving evidence of the building’s use also as
the area’s civil defense head quarters during WWII.
Hawkins\Brown has retained and restored the original features in
the Council Chamber including a dramatic plaster domed ceiling,
vaulted galleries, Australian walnut timber paneling and ornamental
gold cornicing, complimenting these features with a bespoke
contemporary lighting and furniture scheme.
The removal of non-original fixtures and fittings and restoration of
the bronze balustrade to the original Art Deco sweeping timber
staircase emphasizes the grand entrance to the Chamber. A new
roof light above highlights its restoration.
Refurbishment of the Assembly Hall included upgrading the sprung
Canadian maple dance floor and reinstating a suspended 1.5-metre
diameter mirror ball at the centre of the hall. Reputed to be one of
the largest in Europe, it evokes the room’s dance hall days of
previous years, when Jazz greats George Melly and Eartha Kitt
performed there.
The existing dressing rooms have been extensively refurbished with
modern facilities and the original cloakrooms below the Assembly
Hall have been refurbished and adapted to create fully accessible
toilets. The original coat rails, pegs and timber partitions are
incorporated into the new cubicles. A bar has been reinstated
adjacent to the Assembly Hall and a new kitchen space has been
created to cater for functions.
Hawkins\Brown’s restoration revives the building’s existing palette
of materials (original brick, Portland stone, fibrous plaster, slate roof
tiles, hardwood veneers and York Stone paving) and complements
this with a modern palette of bronze, reconstituted stone, concrete,
glass and stainless steel.