Gort Scott is delighted to announce that work is starting on site at Woolwich Old Town Hall, where the practice is retrofitting this Grade II listed building to create a new arts hub in the heart of Woolwich town centre. Dating from the 1840s, the building is the oldest surviving municipal building in Woolwich and forms part of a historic quarter of civic buildings.

Over the years, numerous development phases and ad-hoc alterations have resulted in multiple entry points, level changes and internal partitioning, making the building difficult to navigate and detracting from its historic significance. Through a series of sensitive insertions and alterations, Gort Scott’s design improves access, reveals the historic stair, restores the building’s relationship to the street, and transforms the rear yard into a landscaped shared courtyard for public events and everyday use.

Gort Scott was appointed following an invited competition in 2022 as architects, conservation architects and lead consultants. Working with the Royal Borough of Greenwich and Second Floor Studios & Arts, the practice will deliver 21 genuinely affordable spaces for artists, makers and designers in Woolwich and Greenwich. The workspaces will include dedicated wash-up areas for wet art materials, secure bike storage and accessible WC facilities. A building at the rear of the Old Library will be converted into new artists’ studios which can be used as a gallery space during open studios events.