The Granville

From the outset, RCKa worked with key project partners to set out a commercially viable long-term vision for the project which enabled capital funding to be secured and a new future for the building to be realised. Day visits to exemplar schemes, public consultation events, working models, life size drawings and one-to-one workshops contributed towards a collaborative design process which drew on the skills and knowledge of a diverse range of stakeholders and consultees. The result is a design for the renovation of Granville that carefully mediates between multiple user requirements, whilst integrating opportunities to improve community cohesion and encourage social interaction.

Two strategic moves open up the building to the local community, breathing new life into once cramped interior spaces and activating a previously hidden garden. A brightly-coloured public entrance and arrival sequence increases use of the south-facing garden, delivering visitors directly into the heart of the building while resolving complex access issues. Meanwhile, the creation of an open and welcoming public ‘living room’, complete with community café, rationalises circulation, increases flexibility and encourages chance encounters and informal conversations.

The building culminates in the original church hall, a wonderful double height space with slender timber columns and generous windows which flood the interior with natural daylight. Here we created the enterprise hub, a new home for the much-loved, but now run down, South Kilburn Studios. Working with a tight budget we focused on openness and flexibility. Using a palette of low-cost materials we created a series of open studios arranged around a bright blue staircase which linked the two floors of the workspace and further accentuated the height of the hall. The intention was to create a triple height market hall and act as a focal point for the enterprise hub.

The open nature of the space enables you to look out across the two floors and see all the activity going on in the individual studios and experience the buzz of creative enterprise. The stairs connect users on both floors and accentuate the height of the original hall, providing a moment of pause for incidental meeting and conversation between fellow entrepreneurs.