Purcell appointed to lead Hornsey 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 Council.

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 educational use.

To read about other interesting projects from this award winning restoration architects see www.purcelluk.com