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.
On announcing the appointment, Mark Da Vanzo, CEO of the LMTT Trust which runs the Playhouse and the Everyman theatres said: “We’re looking forward to working alongside the City Council, City Region and Liverpool BID to reimagine the Liverpool Playhouse for the future with the Haworth Tompkins team. Together with their partners, they presented a proposal that honours our heritage and place in Williamson Square, while bringing the theatre into the 21st century, for staff, artists, for audiences and the communities we serve. Having led on the re-development of the RIBA Stirling Prize-winning Everyman, which had accessibility and sustainability at its heart, we can’t wait to see what might be possible for the Playhouse.”
Speaking as Director Lead for the project, Lucy Picardo from Haworth Tompkins said: “We're thrilled to be appointed. We already have a strong attachment to Liverpool through our work at the Everyman, led by my co-directors Steve Tompkins and Roger Watts, and much experience working with listed historic theatres such as Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Drury Lane. With a great team of partners on board, we're looking forward to delivering an ambitious, sustainable, practical yet joyous vision for the Playhouse and Williamson Square.”
The team will begin work immediately, building on our existing knowledge of the theatres and the city region, with the report due in Spring 2023.
HT Associate Directors Hugo Braddick & Ken Okonkwo have been selected as Expert Assessors for the 2025 NLA Awards, in the Industrial & Logistics and Neighbourhoods & Areas cateogries. They, alongside their fellow assessors have been busy for the past couple of weeks reviewing the entries which will be presented to the shortlist jury who will select the final winners, commendations and special prizes, to be announced at the awards ceremony later this year. Run by New London Architecture with support from the Mayor of London, the Awards celebrate the people, places and projects shaping a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous London.
Haworth Tompkins has been shortlisted in three categories at this year's Building Design Architect of the Year Awards. The awards recognise architects for their commitment to providing a high-quality work environment and a consistent body of work rather than one-off projects. We're in the running for three categories; Best Architect Employer, Refurbishment & Reinvention and Higher Education for projects including Pembroke College, The Warburg Institute, Trinity Hall Masterplan, American Repertory Theater, King’s Cross Church and Malmö Stadsteater.
Haworth Tompkins is working with lead architects and masterplanners Maccreanor Lavington alongside Sergison Bates, Architecture Doing Place and East on the regeneration of the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark. The vast 28.5 hectare estate, one of Europe's largest, is being regenerated over a 30-year programme, providing 3500 new homes, of which over 50% will be affordable and prioritised for existing and former Aylesbury Estate residents.
Our appointment, through the Notting Hill Genesis Framework, delivers over 200 homes as part of Phase 2B, alongside a new neighbourhood park, with play areas, landscaping, and spaces for community use. Our plot includes a 25 Storey tower designed to maximise dual aspect homes.
Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development, said: “I’m delighted to see these new high-quality, safe, and warm homes given the green light to go ahead on the Aylesbury Estate. It is vital that the estate renewal continues to progress, delivering affordable, decent housing and green spaces for Southwark residents, including existing Aylesbury residents and those on our housing waiting list."
Haworth Tompkins has been appointed by LDA Design to join the team shaping the new St George’s Gateway Framework – a major initiative to reimagine one of Liverpool’s most significant cultural and civic quarters. The project is being delivered in collaboration with Liverpool City Council, Liverpool John Moores University, and National Museums Liverpool, alongside a multidisciplinary team including WSP, Pegasus Group, Hatch, PLACED, and AspinallVerdi.
The framework will guide future development and investment across this vital city centre area, maximising public benefit and enhancing Liverpool’s unique cultural and heritage assets. It builds on recent transformational projects, such as the removal of the Churchill Way Flyovers, and seeks to place high-quality placemaking at the heart of the city’s future growth.
Lucy Picardo, Director at Haworth Tompkins, said: 'We’re delighted to be working with LDA Design and the wider team on such a significant piece of city-making. Liverpool holds a special place for us through our work on the Everyman Theatre, and we’re excited to bring our experience in cultural and heritage-led regeneration to this project. St George’s Gateway is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape a truly inclusive and vibrant civic space.'
Following our winning competition submission in summer 2024, Haworth Tompkins has been working closely with London Museum Docklands to explore opportunities at its site on West India Quay in Canary Wharf. London Museum Docklands is housed within a Grade 1 listed Georgian warehouse and is home to the Port & River collection, telling the long history of the capital as a port through stories of trade, enslavement and migration.
“We are thrilled to have been awarded this opportunity. It’s been a pleasure to work together with the team at London Museum Docklands over the last 6 months.” Lucy Picardo - Director, Haworth Tompkins.
Our design of the @sohoplace auditorium is embedded at the heart of the building and is the first new build West End theatre for 50 years. Responding to impresario Nica Burns’ vision for a truly adaptable, intimate 600 seat West End auditorium, Haworth Tompkins, Charcoalblue, Arup and TAIT designed an intense, sumptuous room with multiple possibilities for artists and audiences to explore.
The judges commented that 'one of the project’s highlights is the studio theatre auditorium space designed by Haworth Tompkins and managed by Nica Burns. This intimate space is protected from the cacophony of exhaust air from a Crossrail energy plant and yet the noise reduction measures mean that it is quieter than many of the capital’s grander theatres.
The exquisitely proportioned volume provides accessibility for small productions that would otherwise struggle to secure central London venues. Lobbies and circulation spaces wrap the auditorium box and break with theatre tradition through glass facades that intersect with chrome-clad columns to emit and reflect the theatre of movement into the surrounding streets.
Haworth Tompkins was delighted to attend an opening event last weekend in celebration of Pembroke College’s transformative Mill Lane development, marking the culmination of a nine-year journey in collaboration with the College. As architects for this significant project, we are incredibly proud to have led the design and to have played a part in shaping the College’s diverse new facilities. It was fantastic to see the landscaping in bloom and the HT designed spaces being used for performances, exhibitions and talks, demonstrating the flexibility and versatility of the new and refurbished spaces.
The event brought together the Dolby family, alumni, and supporters to celebrate this milestone. The day began with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Dagmar Dolby, her sons Dave and Tom, and other family members, before guests explored the new spaces, including the stunning Dolby Court. Throughout the day, the College also hosted a series of conversations in the new Auditorium, compered by Anna Lapwood and Alex Macqueen.
Pembroke Mill Lane is the most significant expansion of the College since the fourteenth century, providing a range of public and collegiate spaces within new and existing buildings on a complex site in the historic city centre. The development includes enhanced teaching, residential, administrative, and communal facilities, arranged around new gardens and courtyards. Publicly accessible elements include a gatehouse, exhibition space, foyer, and a flexible auditorium within a Grade II-listed former church, supporting music performance, lectures, and events.
This project, years in the making, is a true reflection of the College's commitment to both academic excellence and a forward-looking, inclusive vision. We are honoured to have contributed to such a transformational development, which will serve the College and its community for generations to come.
Haworth Tompkins is proud to be part of the world-class architectural team announced for the transformative £2.5 billion York Central regeneration project, one of the UK’s largest and most ambitious city centre developments.
Working alongside masterplan lead Allies and Morrison and an acclaimed group of architects and landscape designers including Grant Associates, Sheppard Robson, Cartwright Pickard, Corstorphine & Wright, 3DReid & Re-Form Landscape, Haworth Tompkins will take the lead on designing the affordable housing for the site. Our focus will be on delivering high-quality, sustainable homes that are accessible to all and designed with long-term community value in mind.
This project reflects our ongoing commitment to creating inclusive, beautifully designed places to live, and we are excited to help shape a vibrant new neighbourhood at the heart of York’s future.