It is 100 years since Holborn House, one of London’s oldest community centres, began life as Holborn Boys’ Club, evolving in 1989 to become Holborn Community Association (HCA).

Purpose built for community use in the 1950's Bedford House (as it was originally known) has been a focal point for the community ever since. Over the last decade HCA have worked with funders, designers and the community itself to reimagine what our community space can be and maintain its use as a space for the community now and in the future

HCA have brought about the creation of a new community building for the 21st century. For HCA’s new home, 6a architects – also a long-term resident of the area – have designed a low-energy building with a series of light-filled open spaces, including new studios, changing rooms and office space (increasing the space to 114 sq m) Facilities for sporting activities have been improved with a new sprung floor. The building will have new street level access and a lift which will allow it to be truly multi-generational in use for the first time. Improved accessibility extends to signage, accessible toilets and accessible changing facilities. Devised with a diverse range of uses in mind the new spaces have been designed to enable HCA to earn their own income, creating a social business model that will sustain the centre into the future.

The 30m-deep toplit interior of the city block, which will be visible through its new glazed metal framed two storey façade, will be animated by Caragh Thuring’s Great Things Lie Ahead (2020), a major new public artwork for the frontage of Holborn House. The rich history of the building and its community will be foregrounded by Thuring who has mapped the history of the local area, ranging from moving personal testimonies, to scientific breakthroughs, in order to create a stunning glass façade the entire width and height of the building. The etched glass will create a filigree lantern effect onto the passageway below, that combined with the stripped back simplicity of 6a’s visible steel structure, results in a kind of ‘Georgian Meccano’ creating a dialogue between the history of buildings in the area and the new community centre.

Thuring’s work extends throughout the interior of the building and she has considered the entire space as she would a painting composition. Working closely with 6a to integrate the building’s materials into her artwork, Thuring has selected the metalwork colours throughout the space and designed the unique tile patterns, that transform and elevate ordinary tiles. In the double height gym and events hall, Thuring has created a woven frieze of acoustic panels that will line the upper walls. These will be visible close up from the new reception where a glazed wall provides a vantage into the hall.