Alexandra Palace’s East Court and Theatre has reopened following the completion of a hugely ambitious, three-year Restoration Project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Haringey Council. Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios reinvigorates this spectacular building through the discreet integration of technical infrastructure, enables it to become a significant theatrical and cultural venue for London.
The architecture studio, winners of Stirling Prize, restored the Victorian Theatre and East Court, which opened in 1875 and once held audiences of 3,000 people. The BBC took over the Ally Pally in 1935, using it as a props store, but the building fell into disrepair following a fire in the 1980s which left chunks of it derelict. Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and consultant team were appointed to this project in January 2014 following a competitive OJEU process.
This “People’s Palace” was built on a monumental scale, and is twin of the West Wing’s Palm Court. The East Court was once a grand exhibition space, part of a wider experience of promenade and spectacle so beloved of the Victorian public. The 19th-century theatre it is a true ‘found space’, a miraculous survivor of decades of disuse and the disastrous fire in 1980 that destroyed much of the Palace.
The architecture studio, winners of Stirling Prize, restored the Victorian Theatre and East Court, which opened in 1875 and once held audiences of 3,000 people. The BBC took over the Ally Pally in 1935, using it as a props store, but the building fell into disrepair following a fire in the 1980s which left chunks of it derelict. Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and consultant team were appointed to this project in January 2014 following a competitive OJEU process.
This “People’s Palace” was built on a monumental scale, and is twin of the West Wing’s Palm Court. The East Court was once a grand exhibition space, part of a wider experience of promenade and spectacle so beloved of the Victorian public. The 19th-century theatre it is a true ‘found space’, a miraculous survivor of decades of disuse and the disastrous fire in 1980 that destroyed much of the Palace.
“When we first arrived it was clear that what makes these spaces unique, especially the theatre, was evocative legibility of its past: its use as a theatre, then a cinema, as a prop store by the BBC and its subsequent abandonment, these could all be read in the fabric of the building. This created a space with a very powerful character.
In bringing it back to life we’ve done an enormous amount of work so the Theatre can support a diversity of uses and formats it could never accommodate before – but most of this work is behind the scenes, hidden from view. Above all, it felt important not to erase the character of the space, that tangible sense of perspective across its 140-year history. We’ve added another distinct layer to that story, but it’s one of many.”
In bringing it back to life we’ve done an enormous amount of work so the Theatre can support a diversity of uses and formats it could never accommodate before – but most of this work is behind the scenes, hidden from view. Above all, it felt important not to erase the character of the space, that tangible sense of perspective across its 140-year history. We’ve added another distinct layer to that story, but it’s one of many.”
Matt Somerville, Associate at FCBStudios
