Second edition: Hastings printworks gets new lease of life

How many developers have remortgaged their own house to rescue a local landmark? In 2019, Jess Steele of social enterprise Hastings Commons did just this to secure a former printworks, home of the Hastings & St Leonards Observer, for the community.

Following the decline of the print industry, the building closed in 1984 and bounced between 13 owners with next to no repairs. ‘[It] was getting more and more valuable and more and more derelict. That spiral needed to stop,’ asserted Steele in 2022.

Hasting Commons entrusted architect IF_DO with the multi-phase transformation of the Observer Building into a mixed-use community asset. It could also provide a template for the regeneration of other seaside towns. And so far, it seems to be working.

But with piecemeal funding and limited resources, the team has had to use money where it matters and build flexibility into the programme and function. ‘[Hastings Commons] want to put the money in the community and don’t care about frilly fittings and anything superfluous,’ says IF_DO associate and project lead Jamie Agnew. ‘They want it to be meaningful.’

The first phase was completed in November 2022, comprising a co‑working space, creative technology hub, gym, café and event space (which already hosts music, theatre, comedy, exhibitions, markets and even a wedding). Restoration of the facade was recently unveiled and a rooftop terrace, pavilion and extension, designed with and for young people, is due to complete next spring. The final phase will create 14 flats with capped rent for local people.

Approaching the building, it’s hard to reconcile the 3,800m² floor space with the four-storey frontage facing the road. However, peering down Prospect Place, the western elevation reveals its true scale. The building stretches back over 50m, with two lower basement levels and further top floors. It’s factory-sized with a human-scale street presence.

The soft-white faience facade has a subdued, municipal-like grandeur. A projecting central section is flanked by four simple columns on the upper floors and sits above two shallow balconies. Lettering takes prominence over detailing, announcing the building to passers-by and spelling out its former function.

Until July this year, the facade had been obscured behind netting and scaffolding. Decades of dereliction had left it forlorn and precarious. The tiles were cracked, stained, loose and sprouting. The windows had been smashed and graffitied and their lead seals nicked.

Although the plan was to retain as many tiles as possible, their deterioration was worse than expected; 194 new tiles had to be fabricated, over half the mortar replaced and new stainless-steel brackets installed. IF_DO also worked closely with the local conservation officer and Historic England to devise a chemical mix to clean the facade without bleaching it a Colgate white. New windows were installed by a local firm. Apparently one worker found himself replacing a window he had broken while sneaking into the abandoned building as a teenager.

Inside was an empty shell and all internal services had to be replaced from scratch. The reinforced concrete structure had been wind-whipped and badly eroded by salt and moisture. Anti-carbonation coating was immediately applied to avoid more significant and costly structural repairs.

The client needed a building with low running costs. Energy-saving measures have been a happy byproduct. All external facing walls have at least 220mm of breathable insulation, and windows are triple glazed and fully sealed. Two air-source heat pumps serve all heating and hot water, lights have PIR sensors and LED bulbs, and grey water harvesting is used for the toilets.

These are big but largely invisible interventions yet they will underpin future development. Agnew explains that, in reality, the scheme has many micro-phases due to the ebb and flow of costs and funding. He gestures to a few faience blocks perched next to the basement floor lift. They are the final replacement pieces for the facade’s lower balcony but installation has been shifted back due to unexpected costs.

Funding has been sourced from different pots and is still being put together for the residential phase. Yet the project is not stuttering or stalling. Hastings Commons and IF_DO have choreographed a rigorous piecemeal approach, termed ‘phased organic development’, which balances forward-planning and flexibility.

Each phase anticipates and facilitates those upcoming without disrupting completed areas or doubling up on work. Internal services have been designed to serve all existing levels. Soil pipes for the residential floors already run down through the co-working space on the first floor and into the sewers. Agnew points to tubes sticking up in the empty concrete expanse: ‘That’ll be someone’s toilet, and that’ll be someone’s bath.’ 

Inside, the co-working space is bright, varied but definitely meeting the no-frills brief. Desks line one wall; freestanding plywood and glass pods the other. Ducts are exposed and power sockets hang down over desks. It could be more elegant but that wasn’t the priority. The space needed to be affordable, maintainable and, crucially, flexible for future tenants. Original materials are on show where possible – partly on account of cost, partly for character. Concrete floors have been cleaned and sealed, the kitchen area has untreated brickwork, and a boarded-up window has been repaired and painted a jaunty teal.

This is not a building for showing off. It’s set apart from the main tourist thoroughfare and clearly designed for the existing community. Local engagement has been at the core of the project with IF_DO leading an extensive programme of activities.

Hastings Commons is a different kind of developer. ‘They practice what they preach,’ Agnew assures me. Since 2014, the organisation has bought 11 derelict buildings in White Rock, a small central area of Hastings, and incrementally restored them for affordable use. The properties are currently a third owned by a community land trust (shares are just £1) but this will shift to 100 per cent once the buildings cover their costs. They are rightly proud of what is being achieved in Hastings, and Steele is sharing lessons learnt with groups around the country. On the 100th anniversary of its original opening, the building finally has something to celebrate again.

Find out more about the history of The Observer Building in Back From The Brink: The Observer Building - Rise, Fall and Rescue

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Key data:
Total contract cost Phase 1 £6.6M, Phase 2 £1.9M, Phase 3 £1.6M 
GIFA cost Phase 1 £3100/m², Phase 2 £2100/m², Phase 3 £1450/m²