Reimagined Lexi Cinema by Rise Design Studio opens
The reimagined Lexi Cinema by Rise Design Studio opens in London's Kensal Rise
![Exterior of The Lexi Cinema by RISE Design Studio](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YmPVkQo4QD6KrmMCDt952M-415-80.jpg)
Kensal Rise's Lexi Cinema has reopened to a design by Rise Design Studio. The much-loved north London community hub and local landmark was in need of a refresh to increase capacity and refine its offering, when the locally based architecture studio led by co-directors Sean Ronnie Hill and Imran Jahn stepped in.
‘We got involved about six years ago, as this is our local cinema,' Hill explains. ‘We were approached by the Lexi and first they asked if we could help with odd jobs around the cinema. We were initially asked to make a beer garden out of a little car park at the back. We managed to get the local head of planning here and while the beer garden didn’t happen, we decided to start planning a second screen, to expand the existing cinema.' At the same time, an electrical fire during the pandemic, was ‘a make or break moment', the team recalls. While luckily nobody was hurt, the building suffered a lot of smoke damage so everything (including technical fabrics, projector, seats etc) had to be replaced.
Viewing this as an opportunity, rather than a challenge, the design team together with Lexi founder Sally Wilton, embarked on a delicate and compact transformation that saw part of the rear car park built and turned into a second screen, while the interiors were tidied, reorganised and given a new lease of life by the creation of bonus areas such as a new bar for guests (which includes an original Tracey Emin artwork). At the same time, several features from the original structure (the Lexi occupies the building of an Edwardian gabled brick theatre) were retained and incorporated into the design.
Each of the venue's two screens now has its own identity (one is deep blue, and one is lilac), while graphic designer Joan Zalacain worked pro bono on the Lexi's smart new wayfinding and signage. This, along with architectural gestures such as the consistently dark rubber tiles and pink walls in the corridors and entry hall, brings everything neatly together, visually linking circulation all across the cinema.
Sustainability was also a key part of the brief, as the architects used passive cooling techniques throughout, while incorporating a mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) system and designing the building to be airtightly sealed to minimise heat loss. A planted roof in the new section of the building not only adds greenery to the neighbourhood and the neighbours' views, but also helps support biodioversity in this very urban part of London.
‘The Lexi Cinema holds a special position in the Kensal Rise community, so we approached the project as an opportunity to contribute to both the built environment and social lifeblood of the area. An exercise in community partnership, The Lexi Hub has been designed to respect its neighbours while providing them with invaluable space to gather, learn, contribute, connect, and relax,' says Hill.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Take off: Mathieu Lehanneur's Olympic Cauldron rises into the Parisian night sky
The Paris 2024 Olympics’ opening ceremony was closed with a soaring cauldron spectacle that will go down in history
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Tour the Natural History Museum’s new gardens, a Jurassic lark in London
The Natural History Museum in London has unveiled two new gardens, with resident dinosaurs, after a transformation led by architects Feilden Fowles
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Drama Republic moves into a colourful, handcrafted workspace in London
For the new creative HQ of production company Drama Republic, Emil Eve Architects remodels a warehouse into office space in London’s Holborn
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Hideaway House in London features timber panelling inspired by the New York hospitality scene
The elegantly refurbished Hideaway House by Studio McW in London features timber panelling inspired by Philip Johnson’s The Four Seasons Restaurant
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
An Uxbridge annexe by Bureau de Change is a design for effortless intergenerational living
Uxbridge Bower, a residential annexe in west London, is a contemporary addition offering both privacy and connection for the needs of a family
By Tianna Williams Published
-
‘Modern Buildings’ tours south-east London through a guide to post-war Blackheath and Greenwich
‘Modern Buildings: Blackheath and Greenwich’ is a detailed survey of a London borough’s rich trove of new modernist architecture
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Triangle House invites you to its inner world of colourful surprises
Triangle House by Artefact is a private home in Epsom, outside London, combining Caribbean style, colour and functionality
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Tour the refreshed Saint Andrew Holborn: an icon reveals its crisp new interior in London
DaeWha Kang reimagines Saint Andrew Holborn church through a sensitive architectural solution that blends tradition and modernity in London
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Suffolk house by Studio Bark pairs a fresh visual language with low-energy design
Suffolk house Water Farm is off-the-grid but defiantly on the map, a bold new object in the landscape with a strong visual impact and minimal carbon footprint
By Jonathan Bell Published