central club, reading
for decades, the central club on london street was one of reading's most important music and youth venues, a cultural home for the town's afro-caribbean community. it closed around 20 years ago, but its long side wall still carries alan howard's mural celebrating black history and the local community. earlier proposals for the site had met strong local objection.
when reading borough council put the site up for sale, we assembled a team to bid for it and won for a private joint venture client. after years of pre-application work, consent has been granted for 17 private and affordable homes. much of the existing building is retained, the mural is conserved in place, and a new public courtyard and arts space give the site back to the community.
the mural stays.
some buildings hold a community's memory. at the central club, the mural is that memory made visible. keeping it where it was painted, rather than moving or recreating it, was the starting point for everything else in the design.
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shaped by the community
winning the council's sale meant bringing developers, engineers and designers together behind one vision. years of pre-application consultation then let residents and community groups shape the proposals, and the design continues to develop.
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keeping the building
much of the original club is kept, including its front façade onto london street within the conservation area. new homes rise behind and above, in a low-slung four-storey form that respects the street and its setting.
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protecting the mural
the long façade carrying the mural is retained and conserved in place. engineering the new homes around it, and protecting it through construction, was one of the most complex parts of the scheme. interpretation boards will tell its story, and the club's, to new generations.
