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    Citizens Design Bureau adds “volcanic colours” to arts and circus space in former church

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    UK studio Citizens Design Bureau has given a colourful retrofit to Jacksons Lane, an arts and circus centre in an old church in London, with the aim of decluttering and simplifying its interior.

    The studio aimed to improve the functionality of the grade II-listed building, which used to be a church but has been a community hub and “leading centre in contemporary circus arts” since the 1980s, Citizens Design Bureau said.
    The Jacksons Lane building has a colourful interior”The previous layout was a real jumble of spaces that didn’t work from a functional perspective,” the studio’s director Katy Marks told Dezeen.
    “Our approach was to declutter the old church building, so that the original structure was more visible, giving a sense of the symmetrical cruciform of the original plan and using the drama of those spaces to full effect, improving acoustic separation, functionality as well as making the building fully accessible,” she added.
    Spaces were rearranged to create a more functional interiorThe venue in Highgate, London, had a dated interior with more than 20 different levels.

    While reconfiguring its spaces to make them more functional, Citizens Design Bureau added a cafe and hireable studios in the former church’s double-height transept.
    Red and teal colours brighten up the spaceNew details that make Jacksons Lane more functional include acoustic windows, as well as ramps and lifts that create easier access to the different spaces.
    It also restored some parts of the church that had been hidden under more recent interventions. This included reinstating the main entrance of the building to the original church porch, which had been boarded up.

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    “You would often see people still climbing the steps up to the original, boarded-up door, trying to push it open,” Marks said.
    “In a grade II-listed building, we had limited scope to make big changes to the exterior, so we felt that opening up the original and intuitively obvious entrance was the most impactful move we could make, to make the building much more legible and welcoming to everyone,” she added.
    Citizens Design Bureau retrofitted the arts centre in HighgateInside the centre, Citizens Design Bureau introduced a warm colour palette of deep reds and oranges with teal accents, which complements the existing brick, stone and dark-wood details.
    “The building has undergone many changes over decades of use, so the internal fabric in particular has a layered history,” Marks said.
    “We have used colour to express those layers – white for the church structure, a teal blue for elements that were added in the 70s, and then volcanic oranges, reds and purples for completely new insertions with pops of other colours in the lighting, reflecting the playfulness of its current function as a creative space, specialising in circus arts.”
    Whitewashed walls contrast dark-wood floorsThe studio clad some of Jacksons Lane’s ceilings with a pale-green concertina form that improves acoustics.
    Lamps with bright orange cables add another colourful touch to the space.
    The former church is now used as an arts and circus hubJacksons Lane is used by a lot of people in the local area and Marks said the feedback so far has been “wonderful”.
    “We hope that what we have done really expresses the ethos and character of Jacksons Lane with clarity and a bit of joy, raises a smile and is the kind of place that people really want to hang out in,” she said.
    Citizens Design Bureau has previously added a “delicately perforated” Corten extension to Manchester Jewish Museum, for which the studio was longlisted for a Dezeen Award in 2021.
    The photography is by Fred Howarth.

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      Atelier Boter enlivens Taiwanese fishing village with glass-fronted community hub

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      Both locals and tourists can gather at this see-through community hub, which design studio Atelier Boter has created in the heart of Qifeng in southern Taiwan.

      The community centre – named F.Forest Office – is the brainchild of a young Qifeng resident who wanted to establish a buzzy social space where locals could hang out, and where tourists could come to deepen their knowledge of the fishing village.
      F.Forest Office is fronted by glass windows on two sidesThe venue occupies a prominent corner plot that overlooks a number of houses with verandas, where residents often sit and chat as the day draws to a close.
      To give the centre the same air of openness and conviviality, Atelier Boter fronted the building with a number of glass windows.
      The community centre houses a hybrid dining room and classroom”We echoed the existing social patterns [of the village], while at the same time enhancing social behaviour by using the visibility of the space,” the studio explained.

      “Observation of the locality is an important process of the design, which we took seriously.”
      A white curtain separates this area from the centre’s workspaceA thick concrete patio was installed at the building’s entryway, inviting passersby to stop for conversation.
      Inside, the 53-square-metre community centre is almost entirely lined with plywood. A white curtain set on a curved ceiling track helps loosely divide the floor plan into two sections: a classroom and a workspace.
      ….
      The latter is anchored by a communal desk with a thick cork countertop and two pendant lights dangling from yellow wires.
      A partition wall at the back of the workspace is fitted with a couple of bookshelves and a small hatch, which is used to serve meals from a kitchen at the rear of the centre.
      Warm-hued plywood lines the interiorThe adjacent classroom is populated by a couple of circular tables and red metal stools.
      When the central curtain is drawn back, the two rooms can function together as a 30-cover dining area or an events space. The curtain also provides some privacy to the hand-washing station that accompanies the centre’s toilet.
      A patio encourages passersby to stop and chatF.Forest Office has been shortlisted in the small workspace interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
      Other projects in the running include chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s test kitchen in London and a warm-hued wine bar by Note Design Studio that doubles as an office.
      The photography is by James Lin. 

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      Konishi Gaffney repurposes church into versatile community hub

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      Timber cladding features in this church in Edinburgh, which has been converted into a community centre by Scottish architecture firm Konishi Gaffney.

      The Greyfriars Charteris Centre now contains a flexible workspace, community hub, events spaces and a non-denominational sanctuary.
      The new link building unifies the complex of early 20th century buildingsThe church was used a place of worship from its opening in 1912 until 2013, reopening in 2016 as the Greyfriars Charteris Centre. With its change of use came the need for an overhaul of its circulation and accessibility, as well as a clear point of entry.
      Konishi Gaffney was challenged with transforming the perception of the church from a closed-off, imposing historic building to an inclusive space to be used by all members of the surrounding area’s diverse community.
      The new entryway provides a definite point of access for usersThe studio’s design aims to physically and aesthetically unify the collection of buildings that had been gradually acquired over time while being sensitive to the historic fabric of the buildings.

      The structure was opened up at street level by extending the length of the existing lancet windows, allowing passers-by to see the activities going on inside and encourage participation.
      The use of terrazzo and timber fins provides contrast to existing stone buildingsA rational entryway was created by slotting a timber link building between the church and the neighbouring office building.
      This is distinguished from the original stone buildings by its facade, which features terrazzo slabs on the ground floor level as a contemporary reference to the rusticated bases of the city’s Georgian buildings.
      The geometric motif is visible throughout the interiorRelief patterns provide further texture to the white terrazzo and were designed in collaboration with artist Steven Blench of local plastering company Chalk Plaster.
      Higher up the frontage, overlaid grids of timber fins add a linear dimension to the terrazzo and, on the second floor, contain a floor-to-ceiling window.
      The atrium creates circulation between all areasThe triple-height, top-lit atrium contains reception and lobby areas and houses a lift for easy access to all areas of the complex.
      An open-plan co-working area, punctuated by structural columns, and two screened-off meeting rooms occupy the lower floor.

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      A wide staggered staircase with integrated seating allows users to sit and collaborate and connects the lower floor co-working areas with the lobby, as well as providing access to the main church hall above.
      The former nave acts as a function room, facilitated by its open floor and unobstructed high ceiling. Original features including ceiling details, crucifix and masonry work remain.
      A wide staircase facilitates easy movement between floorsA six-metre-tall screen inserted into an existing pointed arch sections off the main hall from the ‘all faiths and none’ contemplation area above the stairway, which is lit by a large pointed arch window at the end of the space.
      The Greyfriars Charteris Centre’s interior is unified by the use of American maple and birch plywood joinery combined with white plaster.
      The original church hall is lit by natural and energy saving lightingThis neutral palette ties in with features of the existing structure, such as the main hall’s vaulted ceiling, which was stripped back to its original pine colour from a dark mahogany stain using a soda blasting technique.
      The materials were chosen to keep the interior light and easy to navigate while tying in the new subdivided areas with the original building. Double glazing and new interior lighting was added throughout.
      Bespoke joinery is harmonious with historic featuresImprovements were also made to the building’s environmental performance, with insulation fitted throughout as well as the installation of a more efficient heating system, double glazing, low-energy LED lights and solar panels.
      Other church conversions featured on Dezeen include a church in Los Angeles that was transformed into an events and co-working space by by Francesca de la Fuente and Working Holiday Studio, and a restaurant in London that sits inside a former church by Michaelis Boyd.
      The photography is by Nanne Springer.
      Project credits:
      Client: Greyfriars Charteris CentreArchitect: Konishi Gaffney Architects: Kieran Gaffney, Adam Williams, Ivan Fraile-Gisbert, Dana Cherepkova and Dee FarrellStructural engineer: Entuitive / Forshaw GauldM&E: Irons Foulner Consulting EngineersQS: Thomson GrayOther design consultants: Francis Milloy (lighting design), Chalk Plaster (sculptural collaboration) and Old School Fabrications (joinery)Main contractor: SJS Property ServicesSpecialist subcontractors: Gray & Dick (glazing), Cambridge Architectural Precast (cladding) and Hall & Tawse (windows and doors)

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      New Practice brings warmth and colour to Glasgow's century-old Kinning Park Complex

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      A historic community centre that was saved from demolition by activists – including Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon – has been given a new lease of life by architecture studio New Practice.

      New Practice founders Becca Thomas and Marc Cairns opted for a light-touch approach in the renovation of Kinning Park Complex, a century-old former school building in the southwest of Glasgow.
      A new roof dotted with skylights makes the building weather-proof againAlthough the building was in a poor state, with an extremely leaking roof, faulty electrics and a broken heating system, the Glasgow-based architects’ approach was to save as much of the existing structure and interior as possible.
      They adopted a reuse and recycle strategy, while also making subtle changes that improve the building’s functionality and accessibility.
      Pink denotes the community space on the first floorThe revamped interiors are animated by a system of colour-blocking, which helps to ensure the building can be easily navigated by people of all literacy levels.

      “One of our key aims was to keep the building feeling familiar,” explains Thomas in a video about the project.
      First-floor workspaces are picked out in yellow”Lots of people have hugely strong memories and love for the building and we didn’t want to change that too much. By taking this adaptive reuse approach, we just kept the building feeling like itself and tried to elevate that,” she said.
      “Every choice to remove something original has been taken only where we absolutely needed to remove that, for the safety and for the future of the building.”
      Kinning Park Complex was originally a school buildingKinning Park Complex first became a community centre after the school closed down in 1976, but looked set for demolition when the council announced plans to close it in 1996.
      Local residents and campaigners, including a then-25-year old Nicola Sturgeon, staged a sit-in to protest the closure. After 55 days, the council agreed to let the community take over the building’s running.
      The building stayed in use for another two decades, but over time its problems became hard to ignore.
      A reconfigured ground floor features a large community kitchenThe trustees, led by local resident Helen Kyle, approached New Practice after seeing Many Studios, a creative hub that the architects created in a converted Glasgow market hall.
      The challenge was not only to refurbish the building but also to help support the community’s ambition to buy the property, by improving opportunities for income generation.

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      Thanks to government and lottery funding, the architects were able to plan a full overhaul of the interior in collaboration with engineering firm Max Fordham.
      The roof was replaced as sensitively as possible, while the interior layout was gently adjusted to make room for a lift.
      A double-helix staircase, originally sub-divided, has been opened upThe atrium, which was once subdivided to separate boys and girls, is now opened up. The result is a space that feels generous and bright, thanks to the skylight overhead.
      Three floors of classroom and office spaces have been adapted for a range of uses. A community kitchen can be found on the ground floor, while the second level has become a co-working space.
      The building was taken over by the community following a sit-in in 1996″A key decision that we had to make was to ensure that the work that we were doing in the building didn’t sanitise this rich, abrasive history of activism and community-led dialogues and debates,” said Cairns.
      “We really tried to keep that at the forefront of our thinking.”
      Original wood floors have been rejuvenatedFlexible partitions allows the ground- and first-floor halls to be easily subdivided if required.
      Other spaces include a quiet room that could be used for anything from prayer to breast-feeding, and a series of small studios and workshops.
      The restored handrails are painted in the same burgundy they were in the pastRealising the project in the context of the pandemic proved a challenge. With the architects unable to be on site all the time, they found it difficult to fully realise their ambition to reuse as much as possible.
      Thomas and Cairns recall coming to site to find elements such as doors and balustrade railings had been thrown away by builders, despite their instructions.
      Nonetheless there are still plenty of recycled details to be found, including a framed patch of original wallpaper and a series of storage cabinets built into the walls.
      Original details, like a patch of ageing wallpaper, are celebratedThey hope the building can help to become a positive example of adaptive reuse, particularly in light of the COP26 environmental conference that recently took place in Glasgow.
      This sentiment is echoed by Sturgeon: “The challenge of refurbishing and imagining a building like this, for decades to come, is fantastically dynamic for the architecture and design industries,” she said.
      “We just took it for granted that buildings would reach the end of their natural life and then they would sort of fall into dereliction, and thankfully communities decided that that wasn’t going to happen. So we’ve learned how to reimagine things for the future and preserve for the future.”
      Photography is by Will Scott. Video is by Pretend Lovers.

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      RCKa designs Nourish Hub to tackle food poverty in London

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      Architecture studio RCKa has transformed a row of vacant shop units in west London into a community kitchen and learning space that hopes to reduce dependency on food banks.

      Located on the Edward Wood Estate in Hammersmith, Nourish Hub provides the first permanent home for UKHarvest, a charity that uses food as a tool for social impact.
      Nourish Hub is designed to feel open and accessibleWith Hammersmith & Fulham the London borough with the highest dependency on food banks, Nourish Hub’s ambition is not only to provide food for vulnerable local residents. It offer opportunities for people to practice cooking skills, learn about nutrition and access jobs in the food industry.
      The space includes a commercial kitchen, a teaching kitchen and a flexible space that can be used as a dining room, workspace, classroom or event venue.
      A flexible interior can be used as a dining room, classroom, workspace or event venueRCKa’s role was not only to plan the interior, but to find ways of empowering the local community to get involved in the facility and make it their own.

      The design strategy focused on making the space – which previously housed a post office and a supermarket – feel as accessible as possible.
      Vibrant colours and bold signage make the space more welcomingThe facade can be opened up, thanks to sliding glass doors and a serving hatch, while bright colours and bold signage create a friendly feel throughout.
      “Getting people through the door is the first challenge, so the Hub had to seem open and welcoming to the entire community,” said RCKa director Dieter Kleiner.
      The facade integrates a serving hatch and large sliding doorsWhen developing the design, the architects decided against a traditional community engagement programme. Instead, they hosted a range of pop-up activities to attract the interest of local residents and learn about their experiences.
      They started by painting a graphic mural over the old shutters. They also set up an outdoor kitchen, created playful questionnaire cards and hosted workshops with children.

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      “It wasn’t about co-designing the space with local people; that wasn’t what we needed,” explained project architect Anthony Staples during a press tour.
      “We had three aims: to raise awareness of the project, to test ideas and to establish a local identity.”
      A ceiling mural design came out of a children’s workshopIn one children’s workshop, participants created graphic designs out of raw fruit, vegetables and grains.
      One of these designs is now painted on the ceiling, while another has been turned into ceramic wall tiles.
      The training kitchen includes wheelchair-accessible surfacesFor the interior layout, RCKa took cues from Victorian kitchens. The teaching kitchen takes the form of a large island, while open cabinets display tableware and cookbooks.
      “We were really inspired by old-fashioned kitchens, which are very performative,” said Staples.
      “Everything is on display, so when you go in, you feel like you want to touch and grab things.”
      Open shelving was favoured over cupboardsThe space is furnished with wooden tables, and chairs in bold shades of red and yellow.
      There are also various details added in to make the space accessible to a wide range of users. These include lowered surfaces that cater to wheelchair users and a curtain that supports those with specific privacy needs.
      The children’s design workshop also provided graphics for ceramic wall tilesYvonne Thomson, the CEO of UKHarvest, believes the concept can help to tackle issues of food poverty and insecurity, which impact an estimated 8.4 million people in the UK.
      The project was realised with funding support from the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund, as well as the borough, but the target is for Nourish Hub to become financially self-sufficient within three years.
      “Great care has been taken to create a versatile space that enables us to facilitate positive change and meet the needs of different community groups,” Thomson said.
      The architects began the community engagement process by painting the old shuttersRCKa compares the project with its previous work on The Granville, a community centre with the purpose of providing accessible workspace for local startups.
      Staples believes these types of projects could easily be replicated across the UK, to bring change at a large scale.
      “This project is totally replicable,” he said. “We could roll them out in a lot of London boroughs and beyond.”
      Photography is by Francisco Ibáñez Hantke.

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