Stoke Newington Town Hall sees complete refurbishment from HawkinsBrown
Stoke Newington Town Hall, a Grade II listed Art Deco building designed by J. Reginald Truelove and built in the 1930s, has been restored and refurbished by Hawkins Brown and reopened to the public following closure in 1999.
The two principal spaces which have undergone major restoration works include the Council Chamber which features a dramatic plaster domed ceiling, vaulted galleries, Australian walnut timber paneling and ornamental gold cornicing, and the Assembly Hall which features a sprung Canadian maple dance floor and a suspended 1.5m diameter mirror ball.
A new contemporary entrance and reception foyer of bespoke precast decorative concrete cladding and sealed glazed walls and roof has been created in a former passageway and store area to unify the two spaces. A bar has been reinstated adjacent to the Assembly Hall and a new kitchen space has been created to cater for functions. The addition of new lifts and external ramps makes the building more accessible.
HawkinsBrown’s restoration revives the building’s existing palette of materials (original brick, Portland stone, fibrous plaster, slate roof tiles, hardwood veneers and York Stone paving) and complements this with a modern palette of bronze, reconstituted stone, concrete, glass and stainless steel. The reception incorporates historical elements of the building, including the exposed brickwork of a Tudor mansion that originally stood on the site. Carefully preserved camouflaged paintwork on the external walls, is surviving evidence of the building’s use as the area’s civil defense head quarters during WWII.
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