Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
We worked with Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios on the £26.7m, part Heritage Lottery-funded redevelopment of Alexandra Palace’s dilapidated East Wing.
The Grade II listed Palace comprises east and west wings, linked by the central main hall. The East Wing is split into three main areas; the BBC wing to the south, the Victorian Theatre on the north side, and the East Court between the two. The BBC moved into the East Wing in 1936 but by the late 1970s had moved to White City. In 1980 work began to refurbish the building but a fire gutted the West Wing. This was rebuilt, but the East Wing remained largely unoccupied and the structure deteriorated. The original theatre, meanwhile, had been abandoned and remained unoccupied.
The project looked to return the East Wing to its former glory as a theatre and exhibition space and represented a unique opportunity for the ‘People’s Palace’ to fulfil its potential as a place of learning and enjoyment for the wider community and to provide a significant boost to the local economy. To create a more flexible auditorium, the floor in the stalls was first flattened and retractable seating installed. The decorative ceiling was stabilised and the roof trusses from which it is suspended have been strengthened and repaired.
A matrix of strongpoints within the auditorium roof void allowed for the connection of chain hoists and the suspension of production equipment beneath the fibrous plasterwork ceiling. This kit of parts – of points, hoists and trusses – allow for a wide variety of formats to be created to provide for the events of today and the future. The theatre has become a new flexible performance and event space that opened to critical acclaim.
The scheme won support from English Heritage, the Theatres Trust, the Friends of Alexandra Palace Theatre, the Friends of Alexandra Palace Park, the Victorian Society and the Alexandra Palace Television Group as well as local residents.
The project has been recognised with the following awards :
2020 Civic Trust Awards AABC Conservation: Highly Commended
2019 AJ Architecture Awards, Heritage Category
2019 NLA Conservation and Retrofit Award: Commendatio
2019 RIBA National Award
2019 RIBA London Award
2019 RIBA London Conservation Award
2018 Haringey Design Awards: Best Restoration Project and Best Project in Haringey
2015 New London Awards: Public Buildings Unbuilt Winner
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Client: Alexandra Park & Palace
Architect: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios