Haberdashers’ Hall

Project Info

Designed to last at least 125 years, the Haberdashers’ Hall in London is arranged around a cloistered courtyard in the middle of a city block. Intended to be austere in both purpose and design, the Hopkins Architects’ project is a lesson in clearly thought through design and understated detailing.

The new Livery Hall, used mainly for formal dinners, has a diagrid space frame roof of laminated American white oak and stainless steel that seems to be resting on concrete padstones. Square columns clad in straight grained veneer extend downwards, dividing a wall of large windows.

All the judges commended the subtly expressed design and clever use of materials. Highlights included stainless steel trusses that added sparkle to the mellow veneered panelling. The hall gave the overall effect of a “beautifully made box’.

The project included the Main Court Room and an Historic Room, each beautifully clad in timber with extensive use of shadow gaps to punctuate the design.