The structure that houses the Picturehouse has been part of Hackney life for over a century. Built in 1907 as the Central Library and Methodist Hall, it faces the Town Hall and is a short distance from the Hackney Empire. In recent years, it was converted into the Hackney Ocean, a live music venue with space for 2700 people, however, it was not a success.
Fletcher Priest Architect’s brief was to transform the existing Ocean Music venue into the Hackney Picturehouse, with minimum intervention and maximum effect, to provide a venue comprising four cinema screens varying in size from 56 to 293 seats, a café area which opens onto Mare Street and the Town Hall square, two bars, a live music venue and an art gallery.
Fletcher Priest Architects’ Hackney Picturehouse is a 4 Screen, 3 Bar Cinema right in the heart of Hackney. This major investment in the heart of Hackney is a timely addition, against the backdrop of the riots in August 2011, and a vote of confidence in the borough. It provides space for a rich mix of arts related and community activities such as film screenings, music events, performances, art festivals, educational courses and other activities, extending the hours of usage from breakfast to late at night. Newly created lettable offices provide affordable spaces for local start-up companies.
The main objective for the design was to reuse and rethink as many of the spaces and materials as possible. This included removing side balconies and concrete slabs to create large screens in Screens 1 and 2, while Screens 3 and 4 were inserted into existing studio spaces. Acoustic panels in the cinemas and bar areas have been refurbished throughout and elements of the old bars have been recovered and reused. Frosted glazed panels that were previously used as projection screens in front of the bar windows have been relocated to the art gallery space to act as a back-lit light box wall.
Lyn Goleby, Managing Director of CityScreen/Picturehouse Cinemas, Britain’s largest circuit of independent cinemas, said: “Our aim is to make the Hackney Picturehouse a really vibrant local community cinema that will become one of the linchpins of cultural activity in the centre of the borough, very much like sister cinemas in the circuit – The Ritzy in Brixton and the Clapham Picturehouse – offering a rich mix of mainstream and specialised film, music and other locally centred activity.”
The four screens created provide unique high quality cinema spaces with steep rakes for ideal sight lines and optimum screen sizes while creating seats for up to 570 visitors.
By using a fresh and simplified colour and material palette a new identity was created, while the idea of supergraphics has been carried through from the large scale PICTURE HOUSE letters playfully announcing the venue along Mare Street to large scale wayfinding signage within the building.
Photographers : Richard Davies, Spencerpearce and Fletcher Priest
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