A world-class concert hall, a new glass extension next to College Green, a Sky Lounge and an indoor ice-skating rink are all part of the plans to restore the Fairfield Halls into a venue “the people of Croydon can be truly proud of”.
The latest details of the £30million refurbishment were given out during two private tours of the site, organised by Croydon Constructing Excellence Club.
Neil Chandler, Fairfield Halls Venue Director, and Magnus Wills, Project Architect at MICA, leading the tours, told guests the huge renovation project will be completed in time for the venue to reopen next year.
Chandler spoke of his vision to turn the huge foyer entrance into an aspirational community hub, an area that he and Wills see as “the heart of the venue”. Everything in the foyer, including exhibitions from the V&A, will be free to use for the Croydon public.
This, in part, will be funded by a private business club – open to just 200 people (exclusive membership sign-up will open later this year) – in the Sky Lounge upstairs providing a high-end work/meeting lounge during the day, an exclusive “priority lounge” for theatre goers by night and a late-night private business club bar late in to the evening.
The guests were also told how the former Arnheim Gallery will be renamed The Croydon Recreation (Rec) and become a 750-standing live music venue which, for one month of the year, will transform into an indoor ice rink and during the summer months will be home to roller-disco events.
The tours were then taken into the vast 1,759-seater concert hall, getting a closer look at the restoration work aimed at returning the space to its former glories – where the likes of The Beatles and David Bowie once played.
Finally, the guests were led outside to “one of the most exciting parts” of the project – a new glazed extension next to College Square that will provide a licensed coffee shop and house a separate studio, named the ‘Croydon Community Cube’, with a semi-sprung floor for community groups to meet, create and rehearse.
Learn more about the exciting plans at Fairfield Halls at the Develop Croydon Conference on Tuesday, November 20th. Book your tickets here.
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