Tower Hamlets Town Hall shortlisted for the 2024 AJ100 Community Impact of the Year Award 29.05.24

Tower Hamlets Town Hall, the new headquarters for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, has been shortlisted for an AJ100 Community Impact of the Year Award.

Encompassing the restoration of the Grade II listed former Royal London Hospital building, and the addition of a new build extension, the new town hall consolidates a number of the council’s offices into one location, and offers a broad range of public services to the borough’s residents, in a more accessible location in Whitechapel.

The design and construction of the new Tower Hamlets Town Hall gave the project team the opportunity to engage extensively with the local community. 19 local apprenticeships were created and 403 people were engaged in the design and construction of the project from Tower Hamlets and other growth boroughs.

AHMM aims to create innovative, responsive and specific community impact, and was committed to engaging young people’s interest in the design and construction of the building throughout the design process. As part of this, we “Adopted a School”, supporting Swanlea secondary school in Whitechapel since 2016. We estimate that we have supported 200+ students and have continued our relationship with the school post-completion.

The resources and knowledge we have shared with the school adapted in response to teacher requirements, student feedback and curriculum changes. The school initially requested support for Super Learning Days for high-achieving Year 8 girls, addressing the challenge that this group don’t often consider DT as a GCSE option; and from 2018, they requested GCSE DT coursework mentoring. Other delivered activity includes work experience; careers fairs; architectural drawing and modelmaking workshops; portfolio reviews; design challenges; visits to site and other AHMM buildings; and attendance at our annual Summer School and Open Studio.

AHMM’s social impact work in Tower Hamlets was recognised by the Thornton Education Trust with its Inspiring Future Generations Award for Social Value in 2023.

The AJ100 Community Impact of the Year Award is part of the AJ100 Survey and is awarded to the project that demonstrates both a deep engagement with the local community and an exceptional outcome for all stakeholders.