Brent Civic Centre is the headquarters of

Brent London Borough Council Brent London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Brent in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. It is based at Brent Civic Centre in Engineers Way ...

, situated on Engineers Way in the

Wembley Park Wembley Park is a district of the London Borough of Brent, England. It is roughly centred on Bridge Road, a mile northeast of Wembley town centre and northwest from Charing Cross. The name Wembley Park refers to the area that, at its broade ...

area of the

London Borough of Brent The London Borough of Brent () is a London boroughs, London borough in north-west London. It borders the boroughs of London Borough of Harrow, Harrow to the north-west, London Borough of Barnet, Barnet to the north-east, London Borough of Camden ...

. It was opened in 2013, replacing the former headquarters at

Brent Town Hall Brent Town Hall, formerly Wembley Town Hall, is a landmark building in Wembley Park in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, England. The building is T-shaped, with a long façade on Forty Lane. The building was the seat of Brent Londo ...

located a mile north on Forty Lane.

History

The building was commissioned to replace the aging

. The site selected for the new building had previously been occupied by the former Palace of Industry which had been built for the

British Empire Exhibition The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925. Background In 1920 the British Government decided to site the British Empire Exhibit ...

in 1924. The construction work started on site in November 2010. The new building, which was designed by

Hopkins Architects Hopkins Architects (formerly Michael Hopkins and Partners) is a prominent British architectural firm established by architects Sir Michael and Patricia, Lady Hopkins. Background The practice was established in 1976 by Michael and Patty Hopkins ...

and built by

Skanska Skanska AB () is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden. Skanska is the fifth-largest construction company in the world according to ''Construction Global'' magazine. Notable Skanska projects include renovation of t ...

at a cost of £75 million, was officially opened to the public on 6 October 2013. Key aspects of the internal design for the nine-storey glass structure included a large atrium and a feature looking like a circular drum. The atrium, which at high, was also intended to double as an events venue, featured a wide staircase which was fitted with seating in the central section so allowing it to function as a grandstand. The circular drum, which was clad in timber, was partitioned inside to create a council chamber, community hall and library. The design also allowed the building to act as a community hub, with two cafés, entertainment spaces, meeting rooms and a wedding garden. When it opened, the civic centre was described by a journalist at ''

the Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as "like ...the parliament of a small nation state". The scheme allowed some 2,000 council staff carrying out civic and administrative functions, who had previously been based at various locations around the borough, to be co-located in one place. The intention was to provide most of the Council's services in the new building, which is roughly in the centre of the borough, other than its

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

s department which was to remain at

The Library at Willesden Green The Library at Willesden Green (simply known as Willesden Library) is a public library complex situated in Willesden Green, London, United Kingdom. The centre includes a public library which spans over 3 floors, and includes a library for chi ...

. Brent Civic Centre was awarded a

BREEAM BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), first published by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in 1990, is the world's longest established method of assessing, rating, and certifying the sustainability of ...

'Outstanding' rating. The design reduced carbon emissions by a third thanks to solar shading, natural ventilation and a combined cooling, heating and power using waste fish oil. In May 2015 the building had to be evacuated when an unexploded

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

bomb dating from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was uncovered by construction workers operating in Empire Way.

References

External links

{{Authority control Government buildings completed in 2013 Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Brent City and town halls in London Politics of the London Borough of Brent