Tower Hamlets Library & Archive’s (THLA) extensive and historic collections date back to the fourteenth century and are accessible to the public for research. Through projects and programmes, it supports employability and provides skills development opportunities for residents through participation in learning and outreach activities both on and offsite, volunteering to work on collections, oral histories and other interactions with the borough’s histories - all of which contribute to the personal and wellbeing of those engaged.

We were commissioned to carry out a feasibility study for a new centralised hub for the past, present, and future of London’s East End, which can support the expansion of income generators from heritage tourism and film and image licensing.

The designs explore the relocation of THLA services and collections to a new site to grow their strong room storage capacity and allow for better preservation of the historic collections, whilst reshaping and re-branding the purpose-built Heritage Centre as a 'Museum of the East End'. The innovative design of the collections centre, library and exhibition space on a busy high street would showcase the Council’s irreplaceable heritage collections and ensure they are preserved safely for posterity. This would allow the THLA to build on key references to the history of the East End as a place of refuge for communities escaping repression and persecution all over the world, as well as, Bethnal Green’s Rag Trade; underpinning LBTH’s vision for a diverse, cohesive, and safe place to live today.