The civic role of a new town hall

What It Covers

James Stockdale from Muse discusses the Your New Town Hall project in Brixton, which transformed five sites into a civic quarter with 194 homes, refurbished heritage buildings, and sustainable infrastructure.

Key Questions Answered

• •Heritage adaptation for modern use: Strip temporary additions to reveal original circulation routes and building form, making historic civic buildings legible and accessible. Secondary glazing and strategic service integration preserve character while improving acoustics and air quality on busy roads.
• •Sustainability in mixed-use regeneration: Site-wide energy center on civic building roof provides heating, hot water, and chilled water to all residential and commercial spaces. Sage glass solar-controlled glazing eliminates maintenance-intensive blinds. Car-free design prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists, reducing operational costs by one-third.
• •Flexible commercial space design: Build in adaptability for changing markets—space designed for high-end restaurants in 2016 successfully converted to fitness center by 2024. Install sufficient ventilation and servicing infrastructure upfront, run services through building cores to preserve heritage exteriors, enable multiple use scenarios.
• •Community engagement through commemoration: Work directly with activist groups like Remembering Olive Collective to honor local history. Integrate memorial elements, rename spaces after community figures, preserve artifacts like etched glass, and create archive spaces that celebrate cultural legacy rather than erasing it through development.