NEWS 5ADF JUNE 2019 WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
Guy Hollaway Architects have completed
Elwick Place, a £26m leisure complex for
regeneration specialists and property
developers Stanhope on behalf of Ashford
Borough Council.
One of Ashford’s ‘Big eight’ regeneration
projects, Elwick Place sits opposite County
Square shopping centre in the heart of town
and comprises a 1,000-seat, six-screen
Picturehouse cinema, nine food and drink
outlets, a new meeting and events space at
Elwick Square, a 58-room Travelodge hotel,
new homes, and a new surface car park.
Designed to stimulate Ashford’s day and
night economy, the project is set to offset
some of the recent high street and town
centre decline that has been felt more
widely across the UK. Elwick Place is
expected to provide hundreds of jobs and
be a catalyst for further regeneration and
investment in the area.
Guy Hollaway Architects’ masterplan
for the project included a new public
square designed to contribute to a “sense ofdestination” at the heart of Ashford’s town
centre, and cultivate a sense of community,
with cafes, restaurants, film screenings,
events and pop up markets which will bring
energy into the town throughout the day
and into the evening. A new public
walkway improves city centre and
pedestrian flow, strengthening the link to
the existing and much used public
footbridge and enhancing connectivity to
the railway station and Victoria Park to the
south of Ashford.
Working within the constraints of a
tight budget and a “highly technical cinema
specification,” Guy Hollaway Architects
developed an innovative facade concept to
give Elwick Place its distinctive visual
presence. Taking the series of black boxes
typical of the acoustic and visual integrity
required of cinema design, the practice has
wrapped the building at first floor level
with sections of gold, woven, anodised
aluminium mesh to create a “sculptural,
articulated and softly tapering form.”The practice also worked closely with
LightIQ to develop a dynamic lighting
scheme. The mesh reflects daylight to create
a subtly changing and opaque facade and
then after dusk, illuminated within, the
mesh becomes a transparent gauze and
“beacon” for Ashford’s nightlife. A terrace
bar with glazed balustrade features at the
west elevation leading out from the cinema
bar and allowing cinema-goers to enjoy a
drink outside overlooking activities below.
A gold aluminium composite cladding on
the Travelodge towards the eastern end of
the cinema creates a complementary
dialogue between the two anchor buildings
of the scheme.
Guy Hollaway of Guy Hollaway
Architects said, “This is the first new
build ‘Picturehouse’ cinema in the country
and will create a new destination for
Ashford, giving people a reason to come
into the town centre in the evenings. When
so many towns are building out of town
cinemas, Ashford is bucking the trend and
investing in its town centre to bring about
positive change.”
Gary Bourne, development director at
Stanhope said, “We hope that Elwick Place
will become an important part of the future
of Ashford as a whole, while celebrating its
unique heritage and importance to the
people of Ashford.”Guy Hollaway Architects’
Ashford regeneration
LEISURE