The Ealing Project | regeneration

Repurpose of a redundant shopping centre nightclub to affordable 3-screen cinema, music venue & social space.

The Ealing Project

Really Local Group
London W5

Concept | Space planning | Café + bar design | Material specification | Furniture

As highstreets continue to adjust post-pandemic here is an example of useful reinvention: an unoccupied shopping centre basement site converted into community space in the form of affordable cinema screens and a rolling programme of cultural activity. 

The concept started with a walk across Ealing common and a photo survey of the area with its open spaces, architectural & industrial heritage, film studios and expanded connections as the new Elizabeth Line opens; a process of defining what local means, and how our new venue might fit in to and stand out in a busy community of well-established neighbours.

The job was partly about the detail of planning the cafe, bar & back of house, and arranging space flexibly for day and night time use; also about finding a strong identity for this new enterprise on a congested and competitive highstreet. The final piece of the jigsaw was designing to accommodate a changing mix of food traders, designer-makers, entrepreneurs, artists and anyone interested in being part of the space.

The project evolved into a pragmatic, non-corporate, low budget design. Low-key materials, loose-fit elements, acoustic panels and theatre lighting rig are minimal additions to the exposed concrete fabric allowing users to add their stamp; highly adaptable now with the potential to shift further as operation reveals community needs. 

Post-opening the cinema with its determinedly low ticket prices also has after-school clubs, art workshops, poetry and comedy nights, plus the social enterprise Mahaba Café creating employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities

One of several accessible, creative, neighbourhood projects being developed by The Really Local Group, with the support of the Future High Streets Fund and local authority investment.

Photography Richard Parkes