Hornsey Town Hall Project Appoints another leading architect

[Adrian Essex]

Please see below the text of a press release from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. It is expected that Mountview will be granted a 125 year lease on the Hornsey Town Hall in return for refurbishing it, using a mix of their own, public and Haringey money.

This appointment follows the appointment of architect John McAslan + Partners (JMP)  followed by Bennetts Associates about 2 years later. Maybe Purcell will remain in favour until something actually happens.

PURCELL APPOINTED TO LEAD HORNSEY TOWN HALL RESTORATION

Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts has announced today the appointment of RIBA award-winning

architects Purcell to lead the design team for the redevelopment of the iconic Hornsey Town Hall

in Crouch End. Today’s good news follows on from successfully securing initial support, including a

development grant of £482,000, from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) last year.

Purcell has over six decades of experience, with an excellent record working on comparable heritage

and arts projects, notably St Paul’s Cathedral, the National Maritime Museum and Theatre Royal

Haymarket. Their work on the Florence Institute in Liverpool was awarded the RIBA North West

Conservation Award and the Construction Heritage Award this year. This appointment comes as the

result of a Europe-wide tender process (OJEU) ensuring best practice in the recruitment of design teams

for major projects. The selection panel included representatives of Mountview’s Board and Haringey

Mountview’s Chairman, Vikki Heywood CBE, commented “we are absolutely delighted to be working

with Purcell whose experience of the restoration and redevelopment of heritage buildings is first

class. They bring with them a talented and experienced design team including Theatreplan who will

work closely with us to design bespoke theatre spaces for student and other performance work. This

appointment marks a huge step forward for our planned move to Hornsey Town Hall.”

The design team will be led by Mark Hammond, a Partner at Purcell, and includes Associate Architect

Liz Smith who is a Crouch End resident. Also part of the team are structural engineers Ramboll, The

Landscape Partnership and access consultant Access=Design.

Mark Hammond said “this landmark building demands a use that reconnects it with the life of Crouch

End and Mountview will provide this. We are thrilled to be selected to deliver this project.” Liz Smith

added “as a local resident of Crouch End I’ve admired this wonderful building for years and so am

delighted to now be able to play my part in this exciting project to breathe new life into it.”

The appointment of Purcell is a key moment in this transformational project to refurbish a distinguished

Grade II* listed building as a new home for Mountview and bring it back to life for arts, cultural and

For further information please contact:

Director of Marketing - Matthew Turnbull on 020 8829 0038 | [e-mail]

Press and Marketing Manager - Tessa Gillett on 020 8829 0036 | [e-mail]

Hornsey Town Hall

Hornsey Town Hall was constructed in 1934, a RIBA award-winning design by acclaimed architect

Reginald Uren. It is on the Buildings at Risk register. In 2011 Haringey Council agreed to support

Mountview’s proposal to restore the Grade II* listed building and to make the Hornsey Town Hall

its new home. Heads of Terms have been signed, based on the Council providing a 125-year lease to

Mountview at a peppercorn rent and plans are now being further tested and developed.

Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts

One of the UK's leading drama schools for acting, musical theatre and theatre production arts,

Mountview is based in Wood Green in north London. It is a registered charity and a company limited

by guarantee. It currently has a student body of around 400 undergraduate and postgraduate students,

studying on courses validated by the University of East Anglia (UEA) or Middlesex University and

accredited by Drama UK. It also offers a wide range of part-time, community and education projects.

For over six decades Purcell has been involved in the care and development of some of the best-loved

buildings and places in the UK and abroad. The award-winning practice has studios covering the UK

and Asia Pacific and offers funding and planning advice, heritage consultancy, building conservation

expertise and architectural design to unlock each building’s potential and ensure high quality solutions.

The OJEU process

OJEU is the Official Journal of the European Union (previously called OJEC - the Official Journal of the

European Community). According to EU legislation all tenders from the public sector which are valued

above a certain financial threshold must be listed in this publication. The legislation covers organisations

and projects that receive public money.

Heritage Lottery Funding

HLF initial support, or a first-round pass, means the project meets HLF criteria for funding and HLF

believes the project has potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money. The

application was in competition with other supportable projects, so a first-round pass is an endorsement

of outline proposals. Having been awarded a first-round pass, the project now has up to two years to

submit fully developed proposals to compete for a firm award.

On occasion, an applicant with a first-round pass will also be awarded development funding towards the

development of their scheme. Having been awarded a first-round pass, the project now has up to May

2014 to submit fully-developed proposals to compete for a full award (£3.3million).