TateHindle has completed the new Salvation Army UK and Ireland Headquarters in Camberwell, south London.

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Jack Hobhouse

The new headquarters sits next to the Sir Giles Gilbert-Scott-designed William Booth College, where the Salvation Army has hosted its training programmes since 1929 – the building being named after co-founder, William Booth.

After coming up against increasing running costs, repairs and maintenance fees at its former HQ at 101 Newington Causeway in Elephant and Castle, the institution began exploring options for a new premises. The new HQ site replaces two residential buildings, built in 1982, that were linked to the William Booth College. Having fallen into disrepair and out of use, they were demolished, with 96 per cent of demolition waste being reused or recycled.

 Glulam lining provides softening and warmth to the exposed concrete frame and structural support to the atrium rooflight. The deep glulam mullions also diffuse the light in the atrium with a warm glow while minimising excess solar gain

The new six-storey project, spans approximately 66,660 square feet (of gross internal floor area) and matches the adjacent Grade II listed College in both scale and materiality, hosting the Salvation Army’s 450-strong workforce.

At the heart of the headquarters lies a central light atrium, around which the various functions of the building are organised. This open space serves as a social hub for the office alongside a public café, flexible workspaces, informal meeting areas, and a roof terrace which offers views of the surrounding area, over Denmark Hill railway station and onto Central London.

The building’s open-plan layout is complemented by circulation and breakout areas around the atrium and encourages collaboration and cross-departmental interaction among the 450 staff inside.

Aligned with a glazed opening at one end to the William Booth College tower, the atrium and glazing on the façade works to ensure the building gets a good does of natural light, while deep window recesses and rooflight timber mullions have been employed to mitigate glare and solar gains, with warm air coming in from an automatic opening vent system when necessary.

The new building also means that the Salvation Army’s other three satellite offices in London can be closed or repurposed.

In step with its neighbour, the external façade and massing of the headquarters pay homage to the historic William Booth College’s brown brick, stone dressings and varied level buttresses. As well as 100 photovoltaic panels and a sustainable drainage system on the the roof, the new HQ incorporates a large amount of brickwork as well as projecting piers, and recessed windows, all of which have been arranged to create a distinct massing. The western façade, meanwhile, features a cross in-laid to the brickwork, of which is illuminated at night to cast the recess in shadow – a response to the light of the William Booth College tower cross.

“Working hand-in-hand with The Salvation Army to deliver their new UK headquarters building has been an incredibly rewarding process,” said Andrew Tate, director at TateHindle in a statement. “Our collaboration seeks to embrace both the values and aspirations of the historic charity, and the contemporary needs and requirements of their modern workforce.”

“A return to their Denmark Hill campus has presented us with a wonderful opportunity to work within the illustrious context of the original Giles Gilbert-Scott listed building which remains the central focus of the training college, allowing us to establish clear connections in terms of scale, proportion, and material. The new building has been designed to last for a hundred years or more and aims to symbolise the ongoing legacy of the organisation, as it looks into the future.”

Andrew Justice, senior property project manager fir The Salvation Army UK and Ireland Territory, meanwhile added: “The Salvation Army in the UK and Ireland will benefit greatly from our new headquarters designed by our team of consultants led by TateHindle Architects. Our years-long collaboration with TateHindle started with a detailed brief-building exercise. We were clear we wanted a building that was cost effective, met high environmental and accessibility standards and would provide a flexible headquarters for many years to come.”

“The improvement in collaboration and communication in comparison to our previous HQ will lead to more efficient working for the Church and Charity, and relationships with both our adjacent William Booth College and the other institutions around us are already benefiting from the new location. We look forward to many years of successful working in the new building.”

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