The Common Rooms

In Stamford Hill the charity Clapton Commons was created to. address the lack of community spaces in the area, building a network of local people that actively participate in the production and management of spaces for people to come together. The charity is rooted in the ancient tradition of the common land and the concept of the common good. Borne out of these principles, The Common Rooms addresses the lack of community space in the Stamford Hill area, creating an uplifting place where people from all faiths and none can come together. Designed by Artefact, it comprises a constellation of rooms that have transformed the disused undercroft of St Thomas’ Church, a modernist building designed by N F Cachemaille Day. The design aims to encourage unexpected encounters through the spatial planning, and to forge a new identity for Clapton Commons through the character and colour of the architecture. The dining room is located at the heart of the scheme, where the community comes together to cook and break bread. It is the nucleus around which the other spaces revolve, ensuring different users rub shoulders and make connections when circulating through the building. The rhythmic partitions are a technicolor reinterpretation of a detail in the church, with everyday materials elevated through their careful detailing. The continuous clerestory ensures light permeates between rooms, as activity spills from one space to another. Crowdfunded with support from the, GLA, Hackney and The Clothworker's Foundation, The Common Rooms is a model for how low cost, high quality community infrastructure can be delivered by the community for the common good.