Walworth Town Hall

Avanti Architects won an invited design competition to rebuild and repurpose the Grade II listed, fire-damaged Walworth Town Hall and Newington Library as a new, world-class community institution. Our design fundamentally rethought access arrangements, internal organisation and circulation across the two buildings, as well as the setting and civic presence of the new centre within the public realm. This was particularly important in light of the wider regeneration of Elephant Park to the north, and the need for the new civic centre to mediate between new and existing communities in Walworth. As Victorian structures, both buildings also suffered from small, raised entrances that did not provide step-free access and were no longer appropriate for a 21st-century public building.

Avanti proposed a radical reorganisation of access by opening up the previously closed side elevation to create a new, prominent entrance onto a new public square. This strategy provided a generous forecourt for recreation, gathering and outdoor events, and enabled a more welcoming and legible entrance sequence. To ensure the listed buildings were treated sensitively, the new entrance was formed by lowering the sills of a limited number of existing windows to create new doorways. Inside, a new expansive foyer was introduced, connected to a single, efficient circulation system that makes the multiple split levels across the two buildings fully step-free. A reception and café were located at the newly created heart of the centre.

Avanti’s concept which was developed up to RIBA stage 2 was conceived as a mixed-use development with exhibition and education spaces, library, council chamber, archive and workspace.  Following a revision to the functional programme, elements of the design approach, including the entrance and access strategy described above, were integrated into a revised scheme led by developer General Projects with architects Feix and Merlin.