Public Buildings • The Granville

The 'civic heart' of South Kilburn: a treasured community asset brought back to life.

The Granville is a workspace and community hub within a converted Victorian church hall in South Kilburn, London. Originally conceived as a ‘meanwhile’ project, the building has now been in use for over five years; providing affordable workspace for local entrepreneurs, space for community events, and housing the charitable work of the South Kilburn Trust.

Emerging from a collaborative design process with local community groups, involving complex negotiations and a limited budget. The Granville carefully mediates between the needs of diverse users, providing a vital civic space which supports community cohesion and builds local resilience.

The project is regularly cited by the Greater London Authority as one of the outstanding achievements of the Mayor’s London Regeneration Fund, whilst its successful launch and sustained use stands as a testament to the profound and enduring impact of genuine community involvement.

£650k renovation providing total of 1,200sqm of space

500 people attended the Graville's grand opening

340sqm of flexible community space

"The restoration of Granville has made us the focal point of a space where everyone can come, feel comfortable and relax... we started with the sauce, but we have big plans. It all starts here."

La'Shan Jones, proprietor of the Saucy Soca Cafe

A collaborative design process

From the outset, we worked closely the South Kilburn Trust to set out a commercially viable long-term vision for the project which enabled capital funding to be secured and a new future for the building to be realised.

Together, we established a framework for honest collaboration that engaged the local community and steered complex negotiations, bringing multiple existing and new users together in a tight space with a limited budget. Through day visits to exemplar schemes, public consultation events (including stakeholder pizza nights), working models, life-size drawings and one-to-one workshops, we ensured a collaborative design process that harnesses the skills and knowledge of a diverse range of stakeholders.

The result is a design for the renovation of Granville that carefully mediates between multiple user requirements, whilst integrating opportunities to improve community cohesion and foster meaningful social interaction.

We worked closely with RCKa to come up with a concept that would take into account a wide range of uses, for a wide range of people, and the initial feedback is that together we have come up with something that really works.”

Mark Allan, CEO South Kilburn Trust

Simple yet impactful design approach

Two strategic moves open up the building to the local community, breathing new life into once cramped interior spaces and activating a previously hidden green space.

A brightly coloured entrance, incorporating a wheelchair lift, draws visitors through the south-facing garden and delivers them directly into the heart of the building – resolving complex access issues and establishing a sense of welcome and inclusivity from the outset.

Inside, previously dark interiors have been transformed into an open and airy public ‘living room’, complete with a community café. Bold colours, natural daylight and an open floor plan make this a highly flexible and useable space that encourages chance encounters and informal conversations.

“The potential of the studios is in the ability of someone to come in and transform the space, to make it their own. It really separates The Granville from almost anything else out there.”

Julian Hall, SKT Business Adviser

"...Thoughtful high-quality design and community engagement has resulted in bringing a much-loved building back to life and making it accessible and fit for all Londoners.”

Jules Pipe, Deputy Mayor, Planning, Regeneration & Skills

Offering choice and flexibility

The building culminates in the original church hall, a double-height space with slender timber columns and generous windows, flooding the interior with natural daylight. Here, RCKa created the enterprise hub, a new home in Granville for the much-loved South Kilburn Studios.

Working on a tight budget, we focused on creating a feeling of openness and flexibility, while retaining original character features. Employing a palette of low-cost materials, we created a series of open studios arranged around a bright blue staircase which links the two floors of the workspace, accentuating the hall’s lofty and airy character. The resulting triple-height space acts as a focal point for the hub, the open space is bathed with light and buzzes with activity throughout the day.

Winner

  • New London Awards Community Prize, 2019

Finalist

  • Brent Design Awards 2023, (Culture and Heritage), Highly Commended
  • Architect of the Year Awards 2020, (Community and Faith)
  • New London Awards 2019, (Meanwhile)

Client
London Borough of Brent

Key Stakeholder
South Kilburn Trust
Greater London Authority (funding)

Status
Completed 2018

Location
South Kilburn, London

Project Team
Georgia Fear
Anthony Staples
Tim Riley

Graphic Design
Europa

Photography
Jakob Spriestersbach
Kit Oates

Related Project

Nourish Hub

Project list