Renovating A Cultural Gem
The Millennium
Location
Union Street, Plymouth, UK
Clients
Nudge Community Builders + Eat Work Art
Team
Collaborating Architect: Vardo Architecture
Status
Design
Re-development of a 1930’s cinema into a community owned and run cultural venue & workspace.
The building holds fond memories many that live in Plymouth, with the Millennium having been a theatre, a cinema and various nightclubs throughout its 90 year history.
Nudge Community Builders are kick-starting the re-use of this building. The long term vision for the building is to create an exceptional venue for music and other cultural activities, supported by day time uses that contribute to the local economy and community. Nudge Community are bringing buildings along Union Street into community ownership to revitalise the area and revive the local economy. They re-imagine, own, create and run activities in four buildings so far.
In collaboration with Vardo Architecture we are developing Phase 1 of the buildings re-invention with a scheme to transform the ground floor into flexible workspaces that will target local start up businesses from food and drink through to wellbeing spaces.
‘ We bought the building because it is too important to our community to be standing empty. Taking on a major building on the street was always part of our plan, it’s taken a long time with lots of twists and turns. We are nervous and excited about giving this building a nudge!’
Hannah Sloggett, Nudge Co-director
Invite the community in!
Throughout the construction process so far we have supported Nudge in opening up the building to the community. We believe doing this helps make community led retrofit work, local people can feel more part of the change happening around them, and stories the are told can influence our designs.
Existing Photographs by Dom Moore
