Battersea Arts Centre is the Overall Winner at the New London Awards this year. Praised by judges including Ben Prosky, AIA New York, who said 'BAC is such an exquisite project. And it is exquisite in so many ways. There’s also a dedication to craft, to restoration, to design but not in a conventional way. I love this building because it is a teachable building.' Andreas Ruby commented that the project has an 'overarching significance that defies typologies, categories and any such things... It’s extremely generous in terms of how to deal with the existing' and Monica von Schmalensee added 'I believe this a statement for us in the jury about how we can reuse, rethink and rebuild – those three words that will be most important in the future.' Alongside this, BAC was awarded the Community Prize, given to the scheme that demonstrates the most positive and meaningful impact to its local community and is exemplary in its response to the social context while contributing to a sense of local identity. Earlier this month the arts centre also won the Experiencing Culture category.
Haworth Tompkins is working on a Strategic Industrial Land (SIL) masterplan for Enfield Council at Meridian Water. Our project will test intensification options for the Hawley Yard site next to the north circular and help establish a land zoning strategy for industrial and co-location uses within the overall Meridian Water masterplan. The whole regeneration project seeks to deliver around 10,000 homes and 6,000 jobs over a 25-year period.
Haworth Tompkins has been announced as the lead on the multi-disciplinary team for the St George's Guildhall and Creative Hub project in King's Lynn. Led by the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk, the redevelopment is set to transform the Guildhall and surrounding buildings into a nationally important cultural heritage site. Stakeholder and community engagement and consultation will take place throughout the project, which is due to be completed in 2026.
Haworth Tompkins has been shortlisted in the Innovation of the Year category at the AJ100 Awards, for the Modular Auditorium most recently used at @sohoplace. Originally developed with specialist stage engineers and manufacturers Tait Towers for the Bridge Theatre, the kit of parts can be assembled in numerous permutations to achieve different capacities, seating formats and staging options, each with dense capacity, excellent sightlines and clear acoustics.
HT Associate Director Dan Tassell is on the NLA Education Expert Panel this year. The panel is concentrating on three key themes which will result in outputs and recommendations that will inform the New London Agenda and beyond. This month he reports back on the themes being explored by the subgroups; Creative Curriculum, Reusing Space and Retrofit. To read the summary of their work click here. Haworth Tompkins have completed several Education projects around the country including Rockwood Academy, a school retrofit in Birmingham, shown here.
Theatre Royal Drury Lane has won a RIBA London award. Our major restoration of this Grade I listed building for LW Theatres opened in summer 2021. The RIBA Regional jury commented that "transformations are seamless and are deliberately integrated into the historic building to ensure that its heritage remains its predominant character. Haworth Tompkins has successfully unlocked the building’s history and simultaneously created a very modern theatre". National Award winners will be announced in June.
Ahead of the completion of Industria next month, we have produced a short film (watch here) with graphic designers DNCO, exploring the concept and construction process for the UK’s first multi-level light industrial estate. The project, for Be First, represents an innovative and ambitious approach to modern industrial design, with 45 light industrial units and maker spaces arranged around yards across three levels, accessed by a helical van ramp.
Director Lucy Picardo is taking part in the upcoming RSAW Spring Conference on ‘All Things Alternative’ at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, Wales.
Haworth Tompkins has been chosen to be part of the masterplanning design team, working with U+I and TOWN, on a mixed-use development in North East Cambridge. The team, led by Kjellander Sjöberg Architects, includes Bell Phillips, Alison Brooks Architects, Feilden Fowles, Nooma Studio and 5th Studio all working together on 5000 homes alongside shops, workplaces, schools and parks located within easy walking distance, based around the principle of the five-minute neighbourhood. Community engagement will take place throughout 2023 and a planning submission is anticipated in late 2024.