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De La Warr Pavilion
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Studzinski Recital Hall and Kanbar AuditoriumDe La Warr Pavilion
A palace for the arts re-emerges as a Modernist landmark.
The Grade I-listed De La Warr Pavilion at Bexhill-on-Sea is widely considered to be the most important British Modern Movement building of the inter-war years. Designed by Eric Mendelssohn and Serge Chermayeff, its steel and concrete structure and internal fittings were radical. The pavilion was the first public British building in the International Style: a people’s palace embodying Modernist architecture’s concerns with healthy living conditions and accessible art.
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The De La Warr Pavilion was popular in the years immediately following its opening in 1935. However, after the Second World War the pavilion’s use declined and the building began to fall apart; it was little appreciated and suffered from many alterations.
The key drawback of the streamlined, finely detailed architecture of the De La Warr Pavilion was that maintenance costs grew exponentially. By the late 1980s, the building’s future was in doubt, even though it continued to host more than 1,000 events—and serve 70,000 restaurant meals—annually.
In 1991 the De La Warr Pavilion Trust appointed John McAslan + Partners to report on the repair and future use of the building. The practice found major disrepair, and a number of significant shortcomings of the original specifications, and set out a strategic plan for rapid structural repairs, followed by complete refurbishment.
The external elevations were restored to original specifications. The architects reorganized the area surrounding the building and the parking lot, and repaired the entrance hall, restaurant and kitchens, auditorium, bar, conference rooms, and sun parlor. The legendary and beautiful architectural feature, the pavilion’s long-closed south terrace, was reinstated.
The restoration of surfaces, fitting and key features, such as the pendant light fitting hanging in the spiral south staircase, were matters of material precision. The need to work with the existing structure and materials meant that interventions were rarely simply achieved. Typically, several objectives had to be dealt with simultaneously. It was possible to upgrade some specifications: the new high performance glazing system, replaced low quality insertions, and has improved the environmental performance of the pavilion’s public areas.
John McAslan + Partners also proposed two new single-story extensions to the north and south of the auditorium, housing additional theatre and practice spaces. This remedied space issues and allowed the pavilion’s original interiors to deliver their architectural impact, though repairs, reinstatement, and new extensions were constrained by the pavilion’s Grade I listing.
Formal name of project: De La Warr Pavilion
Location: Bexhill-on-Sea, United Kingdom
Gross square footage: 4,000 sq.m.
Total construction cost: £8 million
Completion Date: April 2008
Owner:
De La Warr Pavilion Trust
Architect:
John McAslan + Partners
49 Princes Place
London W11 4QA
United Kingdom
Telephone + 44 20 7727 2663
Facsimile + 44 20 7221 8835
www.mcaslan.co.uk
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