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Fairfield study plans a cultural boost for Croydon
Published: 2010-01-18 12:13:30
Keith Williams Architects will draft a rejuvenation strategy for Fairfield Halls following its appointment by Croydon Council and members of the hall's board.
The firm comes with an international pedigree for the design of cultural buildings and secured the contract despite competition from some of the leading architectural practices in the country.
The council and the board recently made the decision to find ways to bring Fairfield up to date. They are looking for changes that will enable all of its facilities to be put to more diverse uses, thus opening its doors to a larger proportion of Croydon's population.
This could include closer working ties between the halls and Croydon College or the BRIT School - possibly with the inclusion of practice and rehearsal space alongside the performance areas. Options will also be explored that could expand and improve Croydon's capacity for major art displays.
Keith Williams was named as public building architect of the year in 2006, and over the last ten years has won design competitions and completed projects on a host of cultural and civic venues from Italy to Ireland. His notable UK work includes the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Wexford Opera House, Ireland and the Unicorn Theatre in London.
His practice now has the brief to carry out and deliver an options appraisal for a solution that will effectively redesign the interior and exterior of the building whilst retaining the basic structure of the halls. Their work will examine what kinds of facility Croydon needs as well as building up an understanding of likely audiences and the expectations of production companies looking for suitable venues. The architects are also asked by the council and the board to explore ways in which suggested improvements to Fairfield can be funded.
Steve Hollands, Croydon's cabinet member for culture and sport stated: "We need to create a venue suitable for artists and audiences in the 21st century which will contribute to the cultural life of the borough. We want to restore the reputation of Fairfield Halls as one of the country's leading performing arts venues."
Derek Barr, chief executive at Fairfield said: "Successive generations of local people have enjoyed some great nights out at Fairfield, with world-class programmes of theatre, music and dance. However, while the concert hall is superb for orchestral concerts, we have long realised that the venue needs investment to maintain its appeal to the kind of quality acts we want to continue attracting to Croydon. It's unrealistic for Fairfield to compete with high capacity arenas but it should still be in the top league for events that will regularly sell out in one of the biggest catchment areas in the south east. There's no doubt Fairfield will maintain its success at the very heart of Croydon's rich cultural and community life. With the right kind of investment and development its future as a first class regional location can be assured.
Keith Williams commented: "This is a particularly interesting project for me personally since I used to attend concerts at the Fairfield in the 1970s and it is really thrilling to have the chance to redefine the interior and exterior of this very important arts venue that is showing signs of age and neglect for decades ahead. We don't have pre-conceived ideas of what Fairfield should look like but we are determined to work with the venue, the council and those who use Fairfield as well as potential users to design an upgrade that will lift Croydon's reputation for high quality public entertainment."