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.
The Warburg Institute has been shortlisted in both the Refurbishment (£10m and over) and Higher Education Categories at the AJ Awards, and in the NLA Conservation & Heritage category. The Project has transformed the Warburg Institute into a more open, accessible and public-facing institution, revealing hidden collections to new audiences and the public for the first time in its history.
Pembroke Mill Lane has been shortlisted in the AJ Higher Education Category. The project is the most significant expansion of Pembroke College, Cambridge since the 14th century, transforming a dense site in the historic city-centre into a cohesive and accessible collegiate campus.
Blackwall reach has been shortlisted in the NLA Housing Category. Designed in collaboration with Metropolitan Workshop, this public sector project is GLA grant-funded and has been delivered through a joint partnership between the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Swan Housing (now Sanctuary) and NU Living. The scheme delivers 268 high-quality, mixed-tenure homes – 50% of which are affordable – while doubling the site’s original density. The masterplan prioritises community cohesion, improved and increased amenity space, urban connectivity and long-term environmental resilience.
It’s fantastic to see such a broad range of outstanding projects on the shortlists and we look forward to the award ceremonies later this year. You can read more about the Warburg Renaissance here, Pembroke Mill Lane here, and Blackwall Reach here.
Our client Hadley Property Group has submitted a hybrid planning application for the transformation of 980 Great West Road in Brentford, west London. The scheme reimagines the prominent GSK House site along the M4 corridor not only as a vibrant new community, but as a model for regenerative, circular development and long term social value.
A new cultural heart will emerge in the city as Kouvola Theatre is transformed into a stunning and more versatile venue.
Malmö Stadsteater HippodromenThe renovation of the Malmö Stadsteater Hippodromen has been announced as one of the winners of the prestigious Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Awards in the Restoration/Renovation category.
Pembroke Mill Lane, Cambridge, has been shortlisted in the Education and Refurbishment categories at the 2025 Brick Awards.
Haworth Tompkins has submitted applications for planning and listed building consent for a phased Masterplan for the Grade I listed De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill.
Work has started on site for the new Studio Theatre at the Hexagon, Reading.
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.
| 13.05.25 | Haworth Tompkins to lead design of affordable housing in £2.5 Billion York Central Regeneration → |