Earlier this week, HT’s Lucy Picardo, Jason McKay and Rose Burgoyne attended a ceremony to mark the beginning of works on site.
The project revitalises the brutalist 1977 theatre with the creation of a flexible new hub for arts, performance and community uses. The extension and refurbishment will create a new 200-seat auditorium, a café, bar, rooftop terrace, and rehearsal and workshop rooms. The new Studio Theatre will be accessible via a lift or stairs ensuring everyone feels welcome and is due to open to the public in Spring 2027.
“We have enjoyed working with The Hexagon and Reading Borough Council who have been visionary in their brief for a new adaptive auditorium studio space with ambitious sustainability credentials. Having developed the design over the last two years we look forward to the building coming to fruition in 2027 for the Hexagon’s 50th anniversary year.” Lucy Picardo, Director at Haworth Tompkins
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.
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 → |