Hackney Creative Workspace Hub Gains Planning Permission
Our design to retrofit and repurpose a 1960s office building in the centre of Hackney into a workspace hub comprising over 100 creative studios has been approved for planning.
The former WeWork building, now known as Netil Corner, was acquired by our client, Eat Work Art to expand on the success of the adjacent Netil House, which has become a powerhouse for leaders across the creative industries over the past 15 years. Netil House is fully occupied by a range of thought leaders and innovators – from fashion designers and photographers to musicians and design studios - and is a firm landmark of Hackney’s creative scene. Eat Work Art aspired to continue this legacy and create additional studio space at Netil Corner, commissioning us to collaborate on their design process.
“Eat Work Art’s ethos is centred around revitalising unique buildings and working with their character to deliver amazing spaces for creative leaders to work,” explains our head of technical, Phena MacNamara. “The WeWork arrangement was largely open plan, so working with the client we were then able to develop a layout that would subdivide the three floors into more than 100 studios of varied sizes, as well as breakout space,” adds Phena.
Three planning applications were prepared to support our proposed design, which will see the conversion of the existing third floor into an accessible roof terrace, a north staircase extension, and new external openings on the southern and northern elevations. Fenestration patterns are deliberately designed to complement the rhythm of neighbouring buildings and the wider Mare Street Conservation Area.
Phena adds: “It’s really exciting that the sustainable transformation of this prominent building can now go ahead, creating a significant volume of private studios and new community offerings specifically for Hackney’s thriving creative scene. As an East London-based business, it is equally rewarding for us to collaborate on a scheme that is quite literally ‘on our doorstep’ and make a tangible contribution towards the neighbourhood’s ongoing regeneration.”
Originally constructed as the offices for Hackney Council, Netil Corner is situated at the junction of Mare Street and Westgate Street and will become the seventh location in London for Eat Work Art.