hawkinsbrown.com

80 years inthe making…Rebuilding

Civic Pride

In 1937, the Town Hall was completed to designs by Lanchester & Lodge. In 1991 the building was Grade II listed by English Heritage in recognition of the quality of its architecture and its largely intact art deco interiors. In 2005, Hawkins\Brown was appointed to carry out a much needed restoration of the building, and in 2007, the firm completed the Hillman Street Annexe to allow the Town Hall functions to decant, pending completion of the new Service Centre by Michael Hopkins. In 2012, works to the Assembly Halls were completed, followed by the Committee Rooms, Office, Council Chamber and Atria. In 2017, the restoration works were completed.

There are always so many people to thank and there is always the fear that someone important will get left out; particularly when a project has taken 12 years to complete!

Firstly, thanks to Jules Pipe whose political leadership, and love for the building, has kept the project moving forward, and Richard Male who has handled the detailed delivery for Hackney. Thanks to the contractor, Osborne, for their long term commitment, and all of their site staff and craftsmen, from whom you have already heard.

Thank you to the project managers and quantity surveyors who kept the paperwork in order, and the engineers who skilfully crafted new structure onto old and threaded new services through listed walls and ceilings.

And to the current and former team at Hawkins\Brown, led by John Turner and Morag Morrison, and then by Chloe Marshall and John in his later role at turnerbates.

Many thanks also goes to:Russell Brown, Roger Hawkins, Rachel King, Jason Martin, Julia Roberts, Nick Gaskill, Carol Lees, Marko Neskovic, Mathew Mallon, Rebecca Hinkley, Andrew Tindale, Nicolau Faria, Julia Xu, Alex King, Raquel Machado, Mahalia Henry-Richards, Laura Pelfort & Annabel Jones. A special thank you to everyone who has contributed to the making of this book especially the team at SEA – Bryan Edmondson, Ryan Jones, Thomas Oesterhus, Zoe Gordon and Charlotte Lowndes; as well as Grant Smith for the photographs and Michael Evamy for his words. Finally, a thank you to all the people of Hackney who have supported the project, and now enjoy the use of the building every day.

Thank YouIn 1937, the Town Hall was completed to designs by Lanchester & Lodge. In 1991 the building was Grade II listed by English Heritage in recognition of the quality of its architecture and its largely intact art deco interiors. In 2005, Hawkins\Brown was appointed to carry out a much needed restoration of the building, and in 2007, the firm completed the Hillman Street Annexe to allow the Town Hall functions to decant, pending completion of the new Service Centre by Michael Hopkins. In 2012, works to the Assembly Halls were completed, followed by the Committee Rooms, Office, Council Chamber and Atria. In 2017, the restoration works were completed.

There are always so many people to thank and there is always the fear that someone important will get left out; particularly when a project has taken 12 years to complete!

Firstly, thanks to Jules Pipe whose political leadership, and love for the building, has kept the project moving forward, and Richard Male who has handled the detailed delivery for Hackney. Thanks to the contractor, Osborne, for their long term commitment, and all of their site staff and craftsmen, from whom you have already heard.

Thank you to the project managers and quantity surveyors who kept the paperwork in order, and the engineers who skilfully crafted new structure onto old and threaded new services through listed walls and ceilings.

And to the current and former team at Hawkins\Brown, led by John Turner and Morag Morrison, and then by Chloe Marshall and John in his later role at turnerbates.

Many thanks also goes to:Russell Brown, Roger Hawkins, Rachel King, Jason Martin, Julia Roberts, Nick Gaskill, Carol Lees, Marko Neskovic, Mathew Mallon, Rebecca Hinkley, Andrew Tindale, Nicolau Faria, Julia Xu, Alex King, Raquel Machado, Mahalia Henry-Richards, Laura Pelfort & Annabel Jones. A special thank you to everyone who has contributed to the making of this book especially the team at SEA – Bryan Edmondson, Ryan Jones, Thomas Oesterhus, Zoe Gordon and Charlotte Lowndes; as well as Grant Smith for the photographs and Michael Evamy for his words. Finally, a thank you to all the people of Hackney who have supported the project, and now enjoy the use of the building every day.

Thank You

hawkinsbrown.com

80 years inthe making…Rebuilding

Civic Pride

In 1937, the Town Hall was completed to designs by Lanchester & Lodge. In 1991 the building was Grade II listed by English Heritage in recognition of the quality of its architecture and its largely intact art deco interiors. In 2005, Hawkins\Brown was appointed to carry out a much needed restoration of the building, and in 2007, the firm completed the Hillman Street Annexe to allow the Town Hall functions to decant, pending completion of the new Service Centre by Michael Hopkins. In 2012, works to the Assembly Halls were completed, followed by the Committee Rooms, Office, Council Chamber and Atria. In 2017, the restoration works were completed.

There are always so many people to thank and there is always the fear that someone important will get left out; particularly when a project has taken 12 years to complete!

Firstly, thanks to Jules Pipe whose political leadership, and love for the building, has kept the project moving forward, and Richard Male who has handled the detailed delivery for Hackney. Thanks to the contractor, Osborne, for their long term commitment, and all of their site staff and craftsmen, from whom you have already heard.

Thank you to the project managers and quantity surveyors who kept the paperwork in order, and the engineers who skilfully crafted new structure onto old and threaded new services through listed walls and ceilings.

And to the current and former team at Hawkins\Brown, led by John Turner and Morag Morrison, and then by Chloe Marshall and John in his later role at turnerbates.

Many thanks also goes to:Russell Brown, Roger Hawkins, Rachel King, Jason Martin, Julia Roberts, Nick Gaskill, Carol Lees, Marko Neskovic, Mathew Mallon, Rebecca Hinkley, Andrew Tindale, Nicolau Faria, Julia Xu, Alex King, Raquel Machado, Mahalia Henry-Richards, Laura Pelfort & Annabel Jones. A special thank you to everyone who has contributed to the making of this book especially the team at SEA – Bryan Edmondson, Ryan Jones, Thomas Oesterhus, Zoe Gordon and Charlotte Lowndes; as well as Grant Smith for the photographs and Michael Evamy for his words. Finally, a thank you to all the people of Hackney who have supported the project, and now enjoy the use of the building every day.

Thank YouIn 1937, the Town Hall was completed to designs by Lanchester & Lodge. In 1991 the building was Grade II listed by English Heritage in recognition of the quality of its architecture and its largely intact art deco interiors. In 2005, Hawkins\Brown was appointed to carry out a much needed restoration of the building, and in 2007, the firm completed the Hillman Street Annexe to allow the Town Hall functions to decant, pending completion of the new Service Centre by Michael Hopkins. In 2012, works to the Assembly Halls were completed, followed by the Committee Rooms, Office, Council Chamber and Atria. In 2017, the restoration works were completed.

There are always so many people to thank and there is always the fear that someone important will get left out; particularly when a project has taken 12 years to complete!

Firstly, thanks to Jules Pipe whose political leadership, and love for the building, has kept the project moving forward, and Richard Male who has handled the detailed delivery for Hackney. Thanks to the contractor, Osborne, for their long term commitment, and all of their site staff and craftsmen, from whom you have already heard.

Thank you to the project managers and quantity surveyors who kept the paperwork in order, and the engineers who skilfully crafted new structure onto old and threaded new services through listed walls and ceilings.

And to the current and former team at Hawkins\Brown, led by John Turner and Morag Morrison, and then by Chloe Marshall and John in his later role at turnerbates.

Many thanks also goes to:Russell Brown, Roger Hawkins, Rachel King, Jason Martin, Julia Roberts, Nick Gaskill, Carol Lees, Marko Neskovic, Mathew Mallon, Rebecca Hinkley, Andrew Tindale, Nicolau Faria, Julia Xu, Alex King, Raquel Machado, Mahalia Henry-Richards, Laura Pelfort & Annabel Jones. A special thank you to everyone who has contributed to the making of this book especially the team at SEA – Bryan Edmondson, Ryan Jones, Thomas Oesterhus, Zoe Gordon and Charlotte Lowndes; as well as Grant Smith for the photographs and Michael Evamy for his words. Finally, a thank you to all the people of Hackney who have supported the project, and now enjoy the use of the building every day.

Thank You

Jules PipeLondon’s Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration & SkillsMayor of Hackney 2002–2016

At the turn of this century, Hackney Town Hall, like the rest of the borough’s civic infrastructure, was shabby and desperately needing investment. Nevertheless, any desire to restore what should have been a home of civic leadership had to be put on hold, pending a restoration of public trust. Renewing schools, roads, streetlights, leisure centres, parks and much else had to take priority. It was clear, however, that this once state-of-the-art building – as it was in 1937 – should undergo the same renewal as the borough in which it has now stood for 80 years. The continuing decay to a Grade II-listed building was an imperative, but two key drivers were the restoration of proper civic space, and financial common sense.  The building had to once more be a place that dignified community meetings, elevated celebratory occasions, and befitted the far-reaching decisions deliberated and made within it, on behalf of a quarter of a million people. A building that would double its staff capacity, allowing the release of other buildings, and operate with greater efficiency – and once again with state-of-the-art facilities.

Hackney Town Hall has been restored for the purpose for which it was designed 80 years ago – a building fit for the most effective public administration, to deliver the best possible services for its residents; a building that provides space for people within the borough and acts again as a symbol of the borough’s self-respect. This book marks the completion of 12 years’ work, and is a tribute to the team of people who, crucially, have delivered it from start to finish: Hackney’s team led by Richard Male; John Turner and Hawkins\Brown architects; and the carpenters, French polishers, master stonemasons and many other skilled craftsmen and women. Reflecting the renewal across the borough of Hackney over the same period, the people behind the restoration of Hackney Town Hall have themselves been at the heart of rebuilding civic pride.

Introduction

Town halls remain a critical focus of community life. They are the embodiment of the democratic process; where we vote, debate, argue, protest and celebrate. They are also where we get married, register births and deaths, and celebrate birthdays and bar mitzvahs. They are where we (collectively) decide on planning, local authority budgets and policy, and where local government is administered on a day to day basis. They are the active centre of any community and the representation of its civic pride and a sense of continuity with their past.

Hawkins\Brown has a long history of bringing town halls up to date. At Barking and Dagenham and Stoke Newington, we brought old, beautiful buildings back to life. We integrated new facilities like energy efficient heating and ventilation, IT and lift access into fragile Listed Buildings. At Corby, we built a brand new town hall, the Corby Cube, that wraps the council office around a purpose built regional theatre.

When we were selected to help design the regeneration of Hackney Town Hall in 2005, we brought this experience with us; but we also brought our day-to-day experience of the local community in Hackney. I married Morag Morrison in the Town Hall, in 1992, and we registered the births of our children in the same rooms.

It was a great opportunity to work with a building that has such emotional ties for us, and as the team at Hawkins\Brown has grown and developed they have made the same strong identification to what the building represents to local people.

The transformation of Hackney Town Hall that is recorded over the following pages is truly a team effort by all of the local authority officers involved, the builders, the architects and engineers. It has taken twelve years to raise the funds and move the offices and meeting rooms around so that the council can keep functioning on behalf of the people of Hackney. The success of the renewed building is a real lesson in how memories of the past can be valued but brought into the 21st century in a way that is relevant and accessible for a place like Hackney; a place that is always changing and looking to the future.

Russell BrownFounding Partner, Hawkins\Brown and local resident

Sandra Smith & Nadine Knight Local Residents

Nadine: I was born in Hackney, as was my mum, Sandra. She can remember coming to the Town Hall with her dad, Ugent Knight, as a child. He came here when he was 19, from Jamaica. On the three-week journey to the UK, on the SS Conte Biancamano, Ugent bought a pair of scissors and razors and offered to cut his fellow passengers’ hair. He wasn’t trained but he used to shear sheep in Jamaica, so he had a bit of expertise in grooming!

He was the barber to stars, including Muhammad Ali and Marvin Gaye. And many others walked through the doors of his shop. He was a bit of a Hackney legend with Hackney in his heart; he knew everyone. And everyone knew him.

He was married in the Town Hall. He would really, really like what’s happened to it. Because he did like opulent surroundings, even though he was quite humble. He’d have been very impressed.

Mr Knight passed away peacefully in February 2017 surrounded by his family.

“Everything we’re doing here has been designed to last. That’s why it’s been so important to get the right craftspeople involved”.

Chloe Marshall Interior Designer

John TurnerDesigner

The most enjoyable part of this project has been the design of the new chairs: working with John and Chloe, developing the specification and then the design of the frames, and creating the finished article, which, as you can see, is something to be proud of.

Not only did we enjoy doing it; more importantly, it was just what the customer wanted. The critical part was the set-back design of the arms to suit the other furniture here. It had to fit the height and width of everything else here, and save space, as well, but also fit around the table. The frames, the joinery, the upholstery, the finish, the dome of the seat, it’s all in keeping with the original designs.

There aren’t many people who can still do the stuff-and-stitch work. We can, hence the finish you’ve got here.

We were the last people to work on the furniture here, way back in the early 70s. So it lasted a while. When I first came here this time round, I thought, I don’t believe this. It took me back to all those years ago. The business has changed since then, standards have moved on. But when I walked in and saw the settees we’d worked on, I was amazed how well they’d lasted over 40 years. It was quite an experience to see something you’d done all those years ago.

www.londonupholstery.co.uk

Terry PageUpholsterer

“We were the last people to work on the furniture here, way back in the early 70s”.

James ElliottMarble & Stonemason

I mainly work in carboniferous limestones and marbles. From tombs for dead kings (including the tomb for Richard III) to altars to bathrooms. Every piece of marble is different to the next, even if it’s from the same place. I like to preserve as much historic material as possible. And to do that you need to come up with new methods of working it.

To find a match for the colouring of the Swedish green marble here, you’d probably need about 10,000 tonnes of block. There was no way of supplying new material for this job. The only way to match the existing marble is to use the same material. So we take the existing marble tile, strengthen it, bond it to other material

with a similar tensile and structural strength, and we slice it by hand, from one side to the other, to create another completely new tile. And it takes about 10 hours per tile to do so. It’s my own method and I don’t believe it has been used anywhere else.

Everything here that was broken and smashed has been put back together. Which is a very difficult job, like a massive jigsaw puzzle. Everything matches exactly and will look as close as possible to how it would have looked when the building opened.

www.jameselliott.co.uk

“Everything here that was broken and smashed has been put back together. Which is a very difficult job, like a massive jigsaw puzzle”.

Duncan WilsonChief Executive Historic England

“ So good to see a truly exemplary and wonderfully careful restoration of a great public building, making it fit for purpose as a 21st century civic building and retaining the quality of the original”.

July 2, 1937The BuilderThe front elevation

19

Assembly Rooms: Concert1960s

July 2, 1937The BuilderThe Committee Rooms

July 2, 1937The BuilderThe Assembly Hall

Assembly Rooms: 4 prints of a play 1960s

July, 1937Architecture IllustratedThe Council Chamber

July 2, 1937The BuilderEntrance to Assembly Hall

26

In the Assembly Hall, we took out all of the art deco chandeliers, removed 130 coloured lightbulbs and completely refurbished them with state-of-the-art light sources and controls. That was pure restoration. Every corridor you walk down, all of the globe fittings have been restored, altered and converted to modern sources.

www.madsonblack.com

James HallHeritage Lighting Restoration and Brassware

27

“Our skills are really rare now. There are more astronauts than French polishers”.

Mark Horridge & Gary McQueenFrench Polishers

Mark Horridge: Gary’s grandad was a French polisher, my father was, too. They worked in Hackney Road, around the corner, and that’s how me and Gary met. Gary McQueen: Our skills are really rare now. There are more astronauts than French-polishers.

Mark Horridge: We’ve never done anything this vast. The panelling was in an appalling condition. You couldn’t see the workmanship, but now you can. We’ve stripped it all chemically, by hand, which takes the lacquer off, back to bare wood. Then there’s the repairs – removing blisters, matching veneers. Then it is all sanded and stained to bring out the depth of the figure, and French polished using shellac, in the

traditional way. It’s probably been the most pleasurable job we’ve worked on, to be honest. It’s been an absolute joy. Seeing people who work here come in and seen the transformation, and seeing their faces light up. It means a lot to us.

Gary McQueen: It’s been a lot of hard work, though. Working on the tower, coming down, moving it along…

Mark Horridge: We’ve lost three stone each, doing this!

When we first got here, the infrastructure was clinging on for dear life, it really was. There were lots of services that had been modified over the years and tacked to walls. Our ambition was to make it look like it did in the 1930s, as well as more energy-efficient and easier to maintain. Part of that was to get all of the services hidden away so that no one could see them.

The challenge was in giving it all the functions of a modern building. We’ve done things like rewire the building using the existing conduits. You can’t chase the ceilings because we could never make it good. The Council Chamber has a state- of-the-art communications and voting system, and air conditioning. Luckily, when we took up the seats, we found some voids for the cabling and ductwork to go through under there.

It’s a voyage of discovery – you take something apart and find a route you didn’t expect. There are no false ceilings or false floors, so we’ve had to get 21st century infrastructure into some very small spaces. Everything’s been hidden in the bowels of the building and on the roof. The pipework was all original, from the mid-30s, and a lot of it was wearing thin. We’ve renewed all the pipework using the original routes, in pockets all around the building, so that it looks exactly as it did.

With a building like this there are lots of unknowns. When you discover things, you sit around a table with the architects and the other consultants and talk about the best way to solve things. It’s been a real team effort.

Ian CuthbertsonEngineerOsborne

“With a building like this there are lots of unknowns”.

Will DevlinEngineering Apprentice

“It’s definitely the kind of project I’d like to work on when I qualify”.

It’s almost unheard-of for an architect and contractor to work together for more than five years, and it’s been a brilliant relationship – among the whole team, to be fair. And I think it shows. It’s people that get the work done. Without teamwork, without relationships, without communication, it doesn’t get built.

We’ve been able to use local skills and suppliers throughout the project. As locals, those people appreciate the building, and its challenges and difficulties, and are slightly more committed, which gives a better quality build.

Matt ColemanProject ManagerOsborne

Richard Male Client Representative

The council hadn’t replaced any of the art deco lighting or fixtures, which turned out to be a blessing; but they’d just worn them into the ground. So when it came to carrying out work on the building, it had to be major works. But it’s been a labour of love; the place grows on you. I love the Town Hall. I love what we’ve done, and being part of the bigger picture of how Hackney has changed.

“It’s been 24/7, one of those jobs you just can’t take your eye off ”.

Lezma AllisonSuperintendent, Registrar & Ceremonies Manager

I had no idea how important Hackney Town Hall was to a lot of people until the scaffolding went up. There was an outcry! They’d chosen Hackney Town Hall to be married because it was an iconic building, and they wanted to take photos on the steps at the front.

When you work in a building, you just take it for granted. The building work has opened my eyes to such a lot of things. We used to do all our weddings in what was called the Gold Suite. The decor was dated and we had to use a portable music system to play music on.

When I started working here, Hackney had a poor reputation. Since 2003, we’ve made a huge effort to turn that around. Now it’s a special, bespoke experience. We’ve come such a long way. And with the refurbishment, we’re sure many more couples will find it a wonderful building in which to hold their wedding ceremonies.

“We host about 900 marriages a year at all our venues”.

Hackney Town HallThe Building’s Story

Hackney Town Hall is one of London’s finest examples of civic art deco architecture. Designed by Lanchester & Lodge and opened in 1937, today the Grade II Listed building is still a focus of community life in Hackney. After 80 years of intensive use, the project to restore and modernise this building has been part of a wider masterplan for a civic campus that includes a new service centre and a purpose built annexe building, also by Hawkins\Brown.

The work has been completed in a complex series of overlapping phases, over twelve years, allowing the Town Hall to remain open throughout. Hawkins\Brown worked with LB Hackney to gradually bring the building into line with current regulations, improving flexibility in use, accessibility for visitors, and working conditions for the employees. The rejuvenated Town Hall can accommodate more staff, more council services and is easier and more sustainable to maintain. The conversion of outmoded spaces has allowed for the sensitive introduction of new event venues with the capacity to generate future revenue.

The works cover restoration, repair, reuse conservation and conversion, from the cleaning of the façade to the creation of new, airy reception areas. Original timber panelling, marble floors, Crittall windows, chandeliers and furniture have all been painstakingly restored by a team of master craftspeople. New fittings and facilities, like the bar, audio-visual equipment, blinds and light fittings have all been designed in the spirit of the art deco interiors, using matching materials and recognisable patterns and forms from the 1930s.

The two unused lightwells that are central features of the original building plan have been converted to indoor event spaces by the addition of ETFE roofs. Original ducts, corridors and service openings have been reused wherever possible to bring new services and IT to every part of the building. Where new grilles or outlets are needed they have been fabricated using matching materials and designs.

Hackney once again has a civic focus it can be proud of, a building that can actively contribute to the democratic, cultural and commercial future of Hackney.

In 1937, the Town Hall was completed to designs by Lanchester & Lodge. In 1991 the building was Grade II listed by English Heritage in recognition of the quality of its architecture and its largely intact art deco interiors. In 2005, Hawkins\Brown was appointed to carry out a much needed restoration of the building, and in 2007, the firm completed the Hillman Street Annexe to allow the Town Hall functions to decant, pending completion of the new Service Centre by Michael Hopkins. In 2012, works to the Assembly Halls were completed, followed by the Committee Rooms, Office, Council Chamber and Atria. In 2017, the restoration works were completed.

There are always so many people to thank and there is always the fear that someone important will get left out; particularly when a project has taken 12 years to complete!

Firstly, thanks to Jules Pipe whose political leadership, and love for the building, has kept the project moving forward, and Richard Male who has handled the detailed delivery for Hackney. Thanks to the contractor, Osborne, for their long term commitment, and all of their site staff and craftsmen, from whom you have already heard.

Thank you to the project managers and quantity surveyors who kept the paperwork in order, and the engineers who skilfully crafted new structure onto old and threaded new services through listed walls and ceilings.

And to the current and former team at Hawkins\Brown, led by John Turner and Morag Morrison, and then by Chloe Marshall and John in his later role at turnerbates.

Many thanks also goes to:Russell Brown, Roger Hawkins, Rachel King, Jason Martin, Julia Roberts, Nick Gaskill, Carol Lees, Marko Neskovic, Mathew Mallon, Rebecca Hinkley, Andrew Tindale, Nicolau Faria, Julia Xu, Alex King, Raquel Machado, Mahalia Henry-Richards, Laura Pelfort & Annabel Jones. A special thank you to everyone who has contributed to the making of this book especially the team at SEA – Bryan Edmondson, Ryan Jones, Thomas Oesterhus, Zoe Gordon and Charlotte Lowndes; as well as Grant Smith for the photographs and Michael Evamy for his words. Finally, a thank you to all the people of Hackney who have supported the project, and now enjoy the use of the building every day.

Thank You