London – Alexandra Palace’s Regeneration by Feilden Clegg Bradley

Alexandra Palace cross-section, courtesy FCB Studios

London | Alexandra Palace and BBC Studios regeneration by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Alexandra Palace is a place all Londoners well know. Popularly nicknamed “Ally Pally”, the palace was created in 1873 as a cultural and leisure venue at Alexandra Park in north London, counter-posed to the Crystal Palace in the south.
The structure was created to provide a wide offer of performances, education, and entertainment events to the people of London. It accommodated a grand hall, a 3,000-seat theater, exhibition spaces, a library, and a covered ice rink; outdoor facilities included a horse racecourse, a swimming pool, and playgrounds.

Alexandra Palace London, photo Ed Webster, 2013 (Flickr, Creative Commons)

Furthermore, the history of Alexandra Palace is deeply connected to that of television. Indeed, in 1935 a part of the building was leased to the BBC and an imposing antenna mast 215-foot high was constructed. The following year, the world’s first “high-definition” (405-line) television program was transmitted from the palace, opening a new era in video broadcasting. Alexandra Park BBC studios remained operational for 45 years until 1981, except during WW2 when they were used for secret operations to spoil radio signals to and from German bombers flying over the UK.

Today, the Victorian palace is still used for concerts and special events, and its ice rink is still a popular attraction; nevertheless, its east wing is almost abandoned and the former television studios are in a derelict state.
Along with the TV facility, the wing includes the 19th-century theater with its foyer and backstage spaces, and the East Court, a large glazed atrium once used as an imposing exhibition space.

Now, a £28 million project for regenerating the eastern part of the building is ongoing, also thanks to an £18.8 million grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The British firm Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios has developed the renovation design.
The redevelopment scheme devises both the restoration of the old structures and the introduction of new contemporary elements and content.

The Victorian Theater will be completely renovated as a state-of-the-art 1,300-seat venue for theatrical performances, live music, and film screenings.

From top to bottom: the Victorian Theater today; proposed theater: new foyer; traditional proscenium stage and traverse stage layouts, images courtesy of FCB Studios

The BBC studios will become a museum, focusing on both the history and the future of television.
By presenting original equipment, audiovisuals, photographs, and historical documents, the permanent exhibition in the renovated studios will depict the technical and creative process of making TV and explore the role of television as a means of communication, entertainment, information media, and archive of collective memory. The visitors will reach the BBC studio rooms on the first level of the east-southern part of the building by a large “red-carpeted” stairway that periodically doubles as a small auditorium.

From top to bottom: the BBC Studios entrance (cutaway and rendered image) and an installation view of the permanent exhibition; images courtesy of FCB Studios

The East Court will be transformed into a fascinating entrance and orientation space interconnecting the theater, the BBC Studios gallery, and the ice rink; furthermore, it will be used as a multifunctional space for special events, and exhibitions and to accommodate a themed cafe and restaurant.

The regeneration of the Alexandra Palace’s east wing is scheduled for completion in 2017.

from top to bottom: a rendered image of the new East Court; bird’s eye schematic view, scale model, and rendered view of the refurbished mast; courtesy of FCB Studios