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Southwark Heritage Centre & Walworth Library
Southwark, London, 2019–21
A new library and heritage centre in a dense, mixed-use city block in Elephant Park, a large scale development in south London.
We were appointed to develop designs for a new library and heritage centre for Southwark Council in a joint venture with Lendlease. Embedding the Cumings Museum’s collection in a new local library provides a generous, useful public space on the high street, a major component of Elephant & Castle’s regeneration.
The two public institutions are co-located on the ground floor of a dense residential-led, mixed-use scheme to create an essential piece of social infrastructure. A new public front door and welcome mat on Walworth Road invites visitors in from the High Street.
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We designed a series of public events that captured the existing needs of the local community, explored new uses in the space and celebrated the birth of a new civic place.
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We codesigned the space and displays with librarians, curators and local residents.
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The library and heritage centre provides more ways into creative learning by integrating culture services. It provides a community lounge, children’s library, digital technology and generous space for study along with an event space to support a programme of community activities.
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The new civic centre creates galleries that support a temporary exhibitions programme and tell the unique story of Southwark.
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Displays with items from the borough’s diverse heritage collection are integrated into the new library's book stacks, allowing contemporary uses to be enriched by local heritage.
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A room lined in cooper creates a digitally silent space, based on the concept of Faraday's cage invented by local inventor Michael in 1836.
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The project combines communities and collections to support democratic discourse and a healthy civic society.
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Invited Design Competition. First Prize. Built.
Southwark Heritage Centre & Walworth Library is part of the mixed use scheme, Orchard Gardens, shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2022.
Client
Lendlease & Southwark Council
Location
145–7 Walworth Rd, Southwark, London SE17 1JL
Architect & lead consultant
AOC
Graphic Designer
Objectif
Structural Engineer
Walsh
MEP Engineer & Sustainability
TUV-SUD
Acoustic Consultant
Sandy brown
Cost
Gardner & Theobald
Fire
OFR
Access
Lord Consultants