12 May Building uses: Are we learning from the past?
While out and about in London recently, our director Diane spotted some images on hoardings around a building that was being refurbished, which raised some questions about fresh ideas for building uses and learning from the past…
Adelaide House combining the past and the future
The hoardings were on the Grade II listed Adelaide House in London and showcased how the space was used back in the 1920s when it was constructed.
They were striking because the facilities it offered back then were not that different from what we’d put in a brand-new or refurbished building now.
There was a rooftop garden with rockeries and fruit trees used for exercise classes, beehives and an 18-hole mini golf course.
And yet now, these sorts of ideas would be celebrated as something new and fresh.
We give ideas different names such as pop-ups or meanwhile use and talk about activation, but has it all been done before?
Do we have short memories? Do we forget what has already been done from one generation to the next? Do we need to stop thinking it’s all about the new and shiny and learn from the past?
Are these images so far removed from more recent openings such as Rooftop East, residential blocks with roof gardens, hotels with running tracks or yoga on the roof at the Bussey Building in Peckham?
There are, sadly, plenty of examples of where ‘new’ ideas haven’t worked. Take the former Debenhams store in Hastings, which had a short-lived revival as a games arcade and is now sadly boarded up again with a To Let sign.
Equally, there are plenty of examples from the near and distant past that are solid, workable concepts.
In retail, London-based department store Liberty. celebrates 150 years this year. From its distinctive, historic building to high-end products and services, its success is likely attributable to knowing what its customers want.
In the more recent past, there have been examples of pop-up concepts that have endured. Sho Foo Doh’s Japanese Okonomiyaki food started at a market and has popped up over London for more than 10 years and now has a permanent home.
Quiggins in Liverpool, which opened in the 1980s and Afflecks in Manchester (still trading) are tried and tested retail concepts similar to markets, vintage fayres and small indie traders we are used to seeing today. There is a lot we can learn from them; the question is how do we build on the good examples and create long-term successes?
The landscape may look a little different, but the underlying business fundamentals are still the same regardless of how many times the idea has been revived or renamed.
What businesses and space curators need to focus on now is not new
You’ve still got to sign a lease and understand how the space will work for your offer.
- Who is the audience/who will use the space
- What is already available that is similar in offer, price, opening hours and audience
- What’s missing from the neighbourhood/space/place – although that’s not enough: is it needed/has it been asked for/requested?
- What infrastructure is needed, how will it be funded, or can it be adapted/done?
What price point will make it viable in terms of both cost to users, covering the overheads, being profitable, and delivering social value? - What’s the sign of success/return going to be judged on?
- What will the marketing programme look like to tell people it’s open?
Back to Adelaide House, we should also celebrate its refurbishment rather than demolition, which is due to complete in Q1 2026 (not the first refurb either). Perhaps its claim to fame as the first London building to be constructed with a steel frame has ensured it can undergo another renovation.
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