Four architects from Haworth Tompkins led an all-day workshop for year-six classes in conjunction with 15Billion EBP, an east-London charity dedicated to promoting social mobility and raising aspirations among young people. Edoardo Milli, Jonnie Rees, Charlotte Madgwick and Jerry van Veldhuizen spoke to the children from Handsworth Primary School in Waltham Forest about architecture; what an architect does and how buildings are designed taking into account considerations such as purpose and environmental concerns. Using the scale model of London at the NLA in the City Centre, they talked about the historical aspects of London architecture which was followed by a walking tour around Bank introducing the children to different architectural styles and asking them why they thought each building had been designed in the way it was. This is part of a week-long project during which they will design their own buildings using everything they have learned.
Albert Island, our industrial-led masterplan for London + Regional, has won the Masterplans and Area Strategies category at the New London Architecture Awards. Located in the Royal Docks, the project combines placemaking with industrial intensification to create a connected, sustainable employment hub with a mix of uses, cycling and walking links, an enhanced river frontage and improved public realm. Start on site is anticipated in 2023, with completion in 2025.
Following a series of design competitions over the summer, Haworth Tompkins has been selected as one of the practices working with The Earls Court Development Company on their plans for the redevelopment of the former Earls Court Exhibition Centres site. A total of 15 architectural practices were chosen to submit ideas and concepts resulting in three teams being appointed to deliver innovative, engaging and sustainable architecture for the first phase. Haworth Tompkins and Maccreanor Lavington will collaborate on the first homes within Kensington & Chelsea, with a significant cultural offer, located in the heart of the site. Construction is set to commence in 2025.
Following a three-year process of development and evaluation, Haworth Tompkins has received certification as a B Corporation. We join an international, multi-sector movement that aims to redefine success in business, with a vision of an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy. The assessment has allowed us to audit the way we do business in terms of our Governance, Workers, Communities, Customers and Environment. Being part of this growing cohort of purposeful businesses sends a positive message about our values and the type of work we are interested to do, provides a structure for us to benchmark and learn from other businesses, and allows us to contribute to training and networking events.
Haworth Tompkins has been working with the London Theatre Company and 59 Productions on Lightroom, their new venue in King’s Cross dedicated to artist-led immersive shows. Lightroom, a four-storey space equipped with the latest digital projection and audio technology, is opening in January with David Hockney’s new show Bigger & Closer. Located on Lewis Cubitt Square in a building by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, Lightroom was designed as a sister space to the Bridge Theatre which opened in 2017. Tickets are available here for the January 25 opening.
Theatre Royal Drury Lane has won Gold at the 2022 World Interiors News Awards for the Lighting Design. A collaboration between Haworth Tompkins and BDP Lighting Design, our approach was to create contemporary lighting effects that drew inspiration from the original ambience of the Georgian interior. BDP merged technical lighting methods of the 19th and 21st centuries; dimming technologies used previously only on stage and in the auditoria have been adopted throughout the whole building to maximise flexibility and balance the same level of sensitivity and atmosphere across all areas. Each individual space looks to the original design of 1810; drawings, financial records and publications from the theatre’s long history were studied to determine the focus of the lighting; whether low level standard, wall sconce or chandelier. Using this as our starting point, the team employed a series of hidden fixtures alongside visible historic pattern light fittings to reduce contrast, wash ceilings, spotlight artworks or integrated details to fixed furniture, steps or handrails. This collection of hidden details suggests the light emanates from the historic light fixtures.
Neptune Wharf at Fish Island Village has won the Urban Regeneration category at this year's Brick Awards. Consisting of a series of blocks, a common palette of brick was used from manufacturers such as Northcot, Michelmersh and Forterra, with clear articulation of building elements such as lintels and cills in precast concrete. Each block type has a distinctive character and references historic precedents, preserving and enhancing the area’s special architectural language. This is the second time Haworth Tompkins has won this award for our work with Peabody, the first being for Silchester Housing in 2018.
Haworth Tompkins is working with the Liverpool Playhouse on a Capital Refurbishment Feasibility Study that will safeguard the future of the 156-year-old theatre. We will be leading a multi-disciplinary team including Liverpool based architects MGMA, Charcoalblue as Theatre Consultants, Layer Studio as Landscape Architects, Local Engagement by Placed along with regular collaborators Skelly & Couch, Price & Myers and Gardiner & Theobald. Following on from our work with the Liverpool and Merseyside Theatre’s Trust on the Stirling Prize-winning Everyman, this Feasibility Study is looking at how a refurbishment of the Playhouse could be an exemplar for similar age theatres across the world, demonstrating that you can improve the environmental credentials of a listed building and its accessibility, while also acting as a catalyst for a cultural regeneration of its surrounding area.
Fish Island Village, a major mixed-use neighbourhood in east London, reached its final milestone today with the unveiling of workspaces managed by the social enterprise The Trampery, and the arrival of London’s first dedicated new campus for fashion, innovation, and sustainability. The project, for Peabody and The Hill Group, has been designed by Haworth Tompkins, Pitman Tozer Architects, Lyndon Goode Architects and Bureau de Change. It creates a permeable piece of city which draws on the area’s heritage as a site of industry and artistic production, combining homes and affordable studio spaces which support London’s creative community. Read more about the project here.