to pay respect to the newly restored original, but not be cowed by its obvious provenance. The
new elements are transparent or screened in fretted glass panels, creating a kind of crystalline
contrast to the grey stone masonry they adhere to. On the street side of the site, they are more
modest, stepping forth only to mark entrance or hint at what’s to come. On the riverfront, they
reach full stride, as a pair of striking glass-box forms leaning out over the water and glowing with
light and activity. As the city’s riverway gains more attention and use, these light-filled elements
become eye-catchers and almost like lanterns for the river. They also make explicit an attitude
towards historical landmarks and how these ought to be treated.
On the interior, the meeting of old and new is more nuanced as it occurs in different conditions
throughout the building. There are places where new white steel touches the richly textured,
previously external stone walls, and others where you feel entirely in a contemporary era. The long
room hanging over the river is a winning space delivering drama, natural light, views... a space
to spend ample amounts of time in, possibly exchanging ideas, or perhaps just pondering them.
There is a restaurant, teaching spaces, areas for children to play exploratively in, offices, galleries
and the like. Downstairs in the basement level, lit by skylights, are studios, a black-box theatre, and
film and music-recording suites. In the other direction, up top, a boardroom with terrace crowns
the scheme. Under the suggestive attic roof of the old post office is a wonderful space devoted to
making things; a well-equipped workshop under an inspirational roof. RDHA has gone to lengths
to utilise economical materials and readymade components in ways that elevate them to public-
institution quality. This is a model of delicate intervention that proves balance is everything.