Lambeth Civic Centre

Cartwright Pickard helped us to create a facility in the Town Hall and the Civic Centre which will be able to adapt to the changing way we work, live and how councils operate, and make it a facility that will still be an efficient building and readily used in another hundred years' time

James Stockdale, Senior Development Manager, Muse Developments

Client Lambeth Council / Muse Developments
Location Brixton, London
Completion 2018
Cost £30m

Services

RIBA stages 1-6
Feasibility study
Architectural design
Masterplanning
Public consultation
Spatial planning
Cat A and Cat B fit-out

Awards

RIBA London Award
OAS Development Awards - Best New Build (outside Central London)
Sunday Times British Homes Awards - Mixed-use Development of the Year
BCO London Award - Corporate Workplace (Highly Commended)
Constructing Excellence National Award - Preservation and Rejuvenation Award
Building Magazine Awards - Project of the Year (shortlisted)
AJ Architecture Awards - Mixed-use Project of the Year (shortlisted)

Our plans for this new civic quarter for Lambeth Council and development partner Muse centre around the refurbishment and expansion of the 1908 Grade II listed Lambeth Town Hall, designed by Septimus Warwick and H Austen Hall and the construction of a 11,000sqm BREEAM Excellent Civic Centre, a 200-space cycle hub and 194 new homes, 40% of which are affordable housing.

Linked to the newly refurbished Town Hall by a new civic route and interconnecting public realm, the Civic Centre has helped to transform the way Lambeth Council delivers its vital services to the local community. With a large customer service centre on the ground floor, the upper five floors provide highly flexible office space to enable the Council to implement smart working practices and agile working through a variety of different work settings.

To express the Council’s ‘cooperative’ ethos, a 24-metre tall atrium links all six floors, acting as a symbol of transparency and providing views over the borough to connect those working in the building back to the community. The atrium’s ‘smart façade’ curtain walling is the first use of SageGlass in the UK, an intelligent solar control glazing system which is a maintenance-free alternative to blinds or shades.

A modern interpretation of the material palette of the Town Hall, the Civic Centre’s design uses precast concrete panels of a similar appearance and texture to Portland stone and red brick chosen to echo the historic building’s facades. Internally, exposed concrete soffits, columns, beams and stairs create a simple and modern aesthetic, with colour introduced through bespoke furniture.

The Civic Centre is BREEAM Excellent, with an energy centre situated on the roof which will ultimately power the Town Hall, Civic Centre and new housing at Hambrook House and Ivor House.

"Cartwright Pickard’s scheme meets all these aims but has also created new spaces that have delighted visitors and been enthusiastically welcomed by Councillors, staff, and the public. In so doing, the scheme thoroughly embodies the Council’s aspirations for Lambeth.”

Dan Murray, Senior Programme Manager, Your New Town Hall

A new civic quarter in the heart of Brixton

In addition to the Town Hall and Civic Centre, the Your New Town Hall masterplan includes:

Somerset Place

Demolition of an existing office building and erection of a new building of 14, 10 and 4-6 storeys, accommodating 94 new homes, with ground floor commercial space plus bike and refuse stores.

Ivor House

Refurbishment of an original Art Deco building into 26 new homes at upper floor levels, involving the erection of a mansard roof extension, bike and refuse stores and ground floor and basement commercial space.

The Press

Internal alterations to the document storage building to provide a cycle hub with 218 cycle parking spaces, changing and shower facilities and a café.

Olive Morris House

Demolition of the existing council offices and the erection of a part 6 and part 7 storey building comprising 74 new homes, flexible commercial space at ground floor and basement level, cycle parking and 10 disabled car parking spaces.