The Ealing Project | highstreet regeneration

Repurpose of a redundant shopping centre nightclub to affordable 3-screen cinema, music venue and 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 with the opening of the Elizabeth Line; part of defining what local means, and how our new venue might fit in. 

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

One of several accessible, creative, neighbourhood projects being developed by The Really Local Group.

Photography Richard Parkes