Walworth Town Hall/

Feix&Merlin Architects

United Kingdom

Share Your Green Design | Walworth Town Hall

Location(City/Country):

London / United Kingdom

Tipology:

Restoration Institutional

Year (Design/Construction):

2022 / 2024

Area (Net/Gross):

- / 5000 m2

Operational Carbon emissions (B6) kgCO2e/m2/y:

Embodied Carbon emissions (A1-A3) kgCO2e/m2:

Instead of demolishing and rebuilding, the project restores and repurposes a historic structure, reducing embodied carbon and waste. This approach minimises resource consumption while maintaining the cultural and architectural heritage of the site.
The project integrates CLT to replace fire-damaged sections of the building.
The renovation features refinished original oak floors, re-rendered walls, and a timber ceiling in the new public areas.

Feix&Merlin, the renowned Peckham-based design studio with creative real estate developer General Projects, in partnership with Southwark, have completed the transformation of Walworth Town Hall in Southwark, South London, reopening the heritage asset for the first time in over a decade.

A focal touchpoint for the community since 1894, the Grade II listed landmark suffered significant fire damage in 2013, resulting in Historic England placing the property on its “Heritage at Risk” register. Since, the town hall has been sensitively restored and given a new life as a hub for local SMEs and community groups, and was formally removed from the “Heritage at Risk” register in 2024.

New workspaces will support over 550 workers across a mix of flexible offices and coworking desks to establish a new destination, tailor-made for independent, creative businesses. The restoration and development provide a series of dedicated public spaces, including a community centre, a new public café and restaurant located within the dynamic central lobby.

The full site comprises 50,000 sq ft, including the former town hall and adjoining former Newington Library and Cuming Museum. The new grand staircase and ground floor entrance onto Walworth Square introduce a prominent public face for the building, improving access and connecting the site to the nearby Sayer Street thoroughfare and wider regeneration of Elephant and Castle.

General Projects worked with LGBTQ+-led, Peckham-based architects Feix&Merlin on a sensitive but impactful design approach. The result combines elements of old and new by making sympathetic references to the town hall’s 19th century architecture, while introducing distinctly modern features through the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) to replace sections of the building damaged by the 2013 fire.

The former council chamber, where the fire began and which experienced irreversible fire and water damage, has had its vaulted ceiling carefully reconstructed as an impressive new CLT structure which provides a modern interpretation of the original design. The bespoke timber soffit and beams are topped by specialist light feature, created using recessed barrisol lighting system to bring a bright focal point to the space. The subsequent increase in height allows the original second-floor gallery to be extended into a dramatic triple-height space framed by a raw metal balustrade, featuring a perforated pattern that echoes the decorative detail of the original railing.

CLT features prominently in the new ground floor café and lobby, where damaged walls have been removed to create an inviting and welcoming open plan space. A new timber ceiling and arched timber columns bring a lightness to the newly accessible space. The central lobby provides a public meeting space alongside a new healthy café and restaurant, which is set to become Jusu Brothers’ second London location.

Across the property, original oak floors are refinished with complementary herringbone parquet, while remaining walls have been carefully sanded, re-rendered and re-painted below the dado-line, but left noticeably exposed above. The former reference library has been carefully restored according to its original design and materials.

The ground floor community centre is configured as a series of three flexi-rooms to accommodate a range of uses. This space will be overseen by the Walworth Town Hall Community Centre Board, a non-for-profit organisation consisting of local residents, council and developer representatives, and operated in collaboration with General Projects’ dedicated management arm, General People.

Walworth Town Hall is the fifth space operated by General People, a management company focused on operating tailored workspaces for creatives. General People’s successful Business Incubator Programme, which gives young innovators an opportunity to set up and develop their business ideas at no cost for 6 months while pairing them with mentors in the building, was launched at Expressway in the Royal Docks and is set to be implemented at Walworth.

Throughout the development, Feix&Merlin worked closely with Southwark Council, Historic England and local community groups to ensure that the design and operation of the building responds to the needs of local residents.