BRIEF ENCOUNTERS


Feilden Clegg Bradley’s inventive refurbishment of Brighton Dome’s Corn Exchange transforms a historic asset into a state of the art contemporary performance space. Veronica Simpson reports


Clockwise The timber rafters in the roof remain the widest single-span timber frame in the UK, stretching to an impressive 18m across. With the facelift, modernising features have been added to the Corn Exchange, including triple glazed windows to improve acoustics, while also factoring in sustainability


SOME THINGS never get old: the joy in seeing a remarkable historic structure brought back to life is an enduring pleasure. But it is especially gratifying when a space designed for an overprivileged, private individual is repurposed for the enrichment of everyday 21st century folk. On that front, few transformations can be as gratifying or offer so much potential as that of Brighton Dome’s Corn Exchange. Te earliest structure within the lavish and Indo-Saracenic complex that includes the more famous Brighton Pavilion, the Corn Exchange was originally built as a royal stables and riding house in 1803; I wonder if they appreciated its cathedral-like dimensions, or the timber rafters soaring overhead in architect William Porden’s pioneering roof structure; at 18m across, it remains the widest single-span timber frame in the UK today.


It became the Corn Exchange briefly after Queen Victoria sold the buildings to Brighton town in 1850, who refitted it as a concert venue in 1867. It has subsequently been a skating rink, a hospital during World War II, and then returned to hosting performances, including the Eurovision Song Contest won by Abba in 1974. Now, after a six-year, £38m makeover by Feilden


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