Feix&Merlin has been named Practice of the year at the 2025 AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards for its ‘diversity of scales, approaches and inclusivity’ as well as its £18.4 million Walworth Town Hall transformation

The AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards celebrate architectural excellence in the renewal and repurposing of existing buildings. The awards cover 16 categories, emphasising the reuse of materials and structure. The winners across the categories, which range from adaptive reuse to decarbonisation to net zero retrofit, were announced tonight [Wednesday 10 September].

In addition, three editorially-chosen awards were announced: Retrofit of the year, Practice of the year and Client of the year.

Feix&Merlin has been handed one of the top prizes for its ‘sensitive restoration’ of Walworth Town Hall, a project that was ‘a stand-out winner’ in the Adaptive reuse into mixed-use category.

The Grade II-listed building in south London had been a local landmark since 1894 but was severely damaged in a fire in 2013, putting it on the Heritage at Risk register.

In a protracted process, Feix&Merlin worked with developer General Projects and Southwark Council to turn the hall into a workspace for 550 people and a community hub, retaining 95 per cent of the original, with mass timber inserts used where parts needed to be rebuilt. Over 5,000 drawings were produced in the process.

The former council chamber now features a reconstructed vaulted ceiling made of CLT, and CLT is also used in the ground-floor café and lobby, where damaged walls have been removed to create an open-plan space with timber ceiling and arched timber columns. The project was covered by the AJ in its OUT Issue in May.

The community centre consists of three flexible rooms, now being overseen by the Walworth Town Hall Community Space Board, a non-profit organisation of local residents, youth representatives, council members and General Projects’ management arm, General People.

The judges lauded the strong community engagement involved at every stage down to in-use. ‘The team pushed this public access agenda even further than they were briefed,’ they said.

They also praised the scheme for being ‘innovative’ while getting the balance between upgrading and respecting its heritage ‘perfectly right’.

Set up in 2006 by Julia Feix and Tarek Merlin, Feix&Merlin is an LGBTQI+-led practice based in Peckham.

In 2022, the practice won its largest commission to date, working with David Chipperfield Architects to adapt a 1950s London School of Economics building as the final ‘set piece’ on the LSE’s Holborn campus.

Another, much smaller, retrofit in the pipeline is the practice’s proposal, working with Extended Studio, to revive railway arches and public realm in Walthamstow, east London.

Approved in April this year, the scheme will also deliver new business and culture uses, as well as street improvements.

The AJ editorial team said of the winner: ‘They have exemplified an admirable perseverance to keep going in delivering robust, impactful projects.’

‘It is this diversity of scales, approaches and inclusivity that we’re celebrating with the Practice of the year award.

‘This award recognises Feix&Merlin’s ability to strike a balance between strong community engagement, creating equitable architecture and quality design that adeptly meets its brief.’

Last year, the 15-year-old AJ Retrofit Awards were rebranded as the AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards, a title more appropriate to the discussion surrounding retrofit with new award categories introduced. Glasgow and Leeds-based practice Page\Park won the Practice of the year accolade at the 2024 awards for its excellence in conservation and adaption of existing buildings.

All 100-plus practices shortlisted for this year’s awards were invited to present their schemes to a panel of judges, virtually, through a brief five-minute presentation followed by up to 10 minutes of Q&A. The 30-strong jury included curator and consultant Vanessa Norwood, Max Fordham director of sustainability Hero Bennett, and Tyler Goodwin, founder and chief executive of Seaforth.

The winners in the 16 categories, plus three editorially-chosen awards, were announced at an awards ceremony at The Brewery in the City of London on Wednesday 10 September, following the AJ’s Retrofit Live conference.

 

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Source: Architects' Journal

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