Waltham Forest Town Hall

A welcome to all

Waltham Forest’s elegant Town Hall has been restored and the civic campus transformed into a vibrant new neighbourhood.

A short film by Stephenson&

5:57

In the old building, visitors were confined to a small area in front of reception and one first floor chamber, which hosted events. Now a flexible, welcoming foyer, accommodates everything from collaborative working to evening receptions, while the civic suite has been transformed to house both community celebrations and council business.

Designed by Churchman Thornhill Finch, an interactive water feature replaces the tired fountain at the main entrance, encouraging children to play in the water on a hot day while also forming a fully accessible forecourt to host large scale events.

We have worked closely with Hawkins\Brown whose designs have restored and re-imagined the cherished historic listed Town Hall. In doing so, it has transformed the way the Council operates and delivers services to residents. The work to the civic square has opened up the Campus as a place for people – where resident, workers and visitors alike enjoy a place that is active, inclusive and welcoming.

The Council’s existing workforce had become spread over several sites, resulting in operational inefficiencies. Bringing everyone together and replacing cellular offices with open-plan, agile workspaces fosters collaboration, wellbeing and productivity. All spaces are dual aspect, offer lots of natural light, ventilation and great views. There are more tea points, WCs, showers and cycle parking.

Waltham Forest is known for its rich cultural heritage and thriving community of makers; we collaborated with several of them on the renovation of the building’s unique interiors including Isokon Plus for their bespoke furniture and clocks.

The new Fellowship Square has already played host to an array of temporary artwork and cultural events including dance, theatre, cinema, music, and craft markets, celebrating the area’s creative community and the legacy of becoming the first ever London Borough of Culture.