Citizens Design Bureau has skilfully reworked a much loved arts venue in north London.

Photos
Fred Howarth

Citizens Design Bureau has refurbished the Jacksons Lane multi-arts venue in Highgate, north London. Located within a Grade II listed former Wesleyan Methodist church, the project includes upgraded theatre facilities, reworked and – for the first time – fully accessible public spaces, enhanced acoustic isolation (to allow simultaneous use of the studios), and new spaces for rehearsals, community events and circus arts.

The existing venue was inaccessible, being spread across more than 20 levels both inside and out. Added to this, the church entrance porch had been boarded up and was being used as a chair store with the main entrance tucked away around the side causing confusion. Internally, the many of the spaces conflicted with the historic structure and were characterised by worn and tatty finishes.

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Awkwardly shaped studios were interrupted by columns, and cramped foyers presented significant access challenges. Some of the most beautiful elements of the historic building had been forgotten and cluttered. The soaring, double-height transept, for example, was used as a corridor with furniture storage. Acoustic separation between the principal spaces was almost non-existent, providing multiple challenges.

Extensive and detailed briefings and public consultation workshops took place during the design stage, exploring the functional and operational constraints of the existing layout. The pandemic presented huge challenges to the programme and budget, but also offered opportunities to adapt the proposals for a post-covid world. This included measures to reduce loneliness, promote physical activity and wellbeing, as well as bring people together. At the same time, the project incorporated areas for increasing revenue potential, such as new hire spaces and a café bar, as well as expanding the creative offering with flexible studio spaces equipped for circus arts, dance, children’s activities, podcasting, and digital content creation.

The existing structure has been decluttered internally, while urgent conservation repairs have been undertaken externally. As part of the £3.3m scheme, the original Church porch has been reopened as a ‘new’ and more intuitively clear entrance with a generous foyer space, exposing the existing church structure. This move increases the building’s street presence, helping to attract more people to participate, experience, learn, work and socialise at the venue.

New studios have been located in the double-height spaces of the transept, which was previously used as a chair store. The nave had been divided in half during the 1970s with a concrete floor separating the upper and lower sections. The architect decided to retain this, but added large acoustic windows enabling the full width of the transept to be seen and appreciated, while also providing views down into the double-height studios below.

The auditorium has been re-raked, with new seating, a flexible stage extension, and removal of an overhead tension wire grid to increase audience capacity. Again, this move has de-cluttered the space, allowing building users to better see and appreciate the historic roof structure.

An external ramp and internal lift set within a new double-height atrium allows the building to be fully accessible to the public and members of staff. The atrium follows the unusual geometry of interstitial space between the old church and church hall, contributing to the overall sense of spatial generosity that the pre-development building lacked.

“Jacksons Lane has been well loved by so many people for decades,” commented Katy Marks, director, Citizens Design Bureau. “At the same time, there was also broad recognition that the building was long overdue an upgrade. We were therefore well aware that we had to balance the practical and functional challenges of access, acoustics, performance and rehearsal infrastructure against the more intangible need to make sure that Jacksons Lane would retain its atmosphere and ethos. Our hope is that our architectural approach has distilled the essence of Jacksons Lane’s distinctive personality. Using colour and material texture, the new insertions within the building are now playfully distinct from the historic fabric – allowing both to ‘sing’.”

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