Jacksons Lane is set to begin a multi-million pound redevelopment project to transform and future-proof the Grade II-listed arts centre, with construction work starting in November 2020 and the building set to reopen in July 2021. This work will be largely funded by £2.1 million from the Arts Council England’s Large Capital Grants scheme, funded by the National Lottery, and £1.25 million from Haringey Council.
Wide-ranging redevelopment across the arts centre, which celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, will focus on improved accessibility, better audience experience, modernised studios, flexible working environments and a dramatically expanded foyer space, ensuring Jacksons Lane is fit for a post-Covid world and maintains its position as the UK’s leading venue for contemporary circus and creative learning.
The project will be overseen by architects Citizens Design Bureau, best-known for their award-winning work on the Royal Court Theatre. The firm’s director Katy Marks was Project Architect on the redevelopment of the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, which won the 2014 Stirling Prize for best new building – the UK’s highest architectural accolade.
Jacksons Lane will benefit from the expertise of Professor David Porter, the distinguished Highgate-based architect, former president of the Architectural Association and recently appointed Chair of Jacksons Lane’s Board of Trustees, who will help steer the organisation through the capital process.
After Arts Council England and Haringey Council funding for the redevelopment was ringfenced last summer and winter, respectively, building work was due to start in 2021. It has now been brought forward to minimise the time Jacksons Lane is closed to the public, making the best possible use of a time in which the country’s arts venues face economic crisis.
Highlights of the redevelopment include: a new lift to allow wheelchair access to Studio 1, one of London’s biggest rehearsal spaces; a foyer almost tripled in size and doubled in height to ensure visitor comfort; sound-proofed and modernised studio spaces; an enhanced auditorium with increased and better quality seating; two new riggable spaces for circus artists, developing Jacksons Lane’s status as centre for circus excellence; accessible and improved dressing rooms for performers; a striking new entrance through the building’s original church doors; flexible working space for staff; and a brand new spacious café and bar, which will pleasantly round off visits to the arts centre.
Jacksons Lane’s Executive Director Monique Deletant said:
“We’re excited by this opportunity to transform Jacksons Lane. We love how much our building is cherished by our communities, but for years they’ve endured noise bleed in studios, buckets catching leaks when it rains and an overcrowded foyer. Since we couldn’t reopen in a way that allows social distancing, we’ve been doing all we can to adapt or digitise our outreach and performance work to reach our communities: now I’m thrilled that we can carry out this work to make the building fit for a post-Covid future and give all of our users the building they deserve.”
