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SPID Won RIBA's Client of The Year Award
SPID Theatre’s refurbishment of Kensal House Estate’s Historic Community Rooms wins big at prestigious RIBA Awards
SPID Theatre Client Of The Year Award
Studio Sam Causer London Award
"It is a project that honours its past while enabling new forms of collective experience, reaffirming the enduring relevance of Modernist social ideals in the present day."
-Amir Sanei RIBA London Jury Chair
Citation Written Collectively by RIBA Client of the Year Award Judges
"Designed originally as an ‘urban village’ with nursery, workshops, gardens and social rooms at its base, RBKC had allowed the Community Rooms to fall into disrepair: dark, damp, inaccessible to wheelchair users and pushchairs, and stripped of much of their historic fabric... Reopened in 2024, the Community Rooms once again host free workshops for young people and residents to learn new skills that drive social change; fulfilling the original ambition that architecture should foster community, equality, and shared life."
"Helena Thompson’s unwavering commitment transformed a long-neglected community building into a renewed civic and cultural asset. As founder and Artistic Director of SPID Theatre, she united residents, architects, funders and campaigners through a rare combination of cultural ambition, social purpose and personal conviction. Over more than a decade, she championed a conservation-led restoration rooted in community participation, ensuring the project remained genuinely public in spirit and use. The judges were profoundly moved by her humanity, resilience and infectious enthusiasm. Helena exemplifies the true agent of change: without access to power or wealth, she brought people together through clarity of vision, courage and an unshakeable belief in a fairer and more inclusive world."
SPID (Social Progressive Interconnected Diverse) Theatre has been awarded Client of The Year Award as well as a London Award for architects Studio Sam Causer by the prestigious RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects). The tiny youth and community charity beat more than a hundred capital projects from corporations across the capital, despite having a smaller budget and less experience. SPID overcame the challenges of landlord negligence, Lockdown, Brexit and contractors going bust to deliver the ground breaking restoration of the Grade II* listed Kensal House Community Rooms.
After 7 gruelling years of halting works, the new lift, staircase and ramped corridor have at last made heritage accessible - restoring the social heart of Maxwell Fry and Elizabeth Denby’s pioneering 1937 Modernist estate by bringing a long-neglected community facility back into public life. The project reinstates lost 1930s windows, repairs original concrete fabric, and restores the theatre, hall, kitchen, toilets and office for contemporary community use.
RIBA judges praised SPID’s Artistic Director and Founder Helena Thompson for her tireless commitment and vision. As a young housing artivist, Thompson found the neglected building in Historic England’s Buildings at Risk Register. She squatted the neglected building with the permission of Kensal House Residents Association and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) in 2005. After campaigning for decades, she ultimately united funders, residents, Historic England, community members and young people in making Kensal House Community Rooms a beacon of hope. It was following the near by Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 that Thompson’s call for investment in housing access and safety was finally heard. She raised more than £3m from over 12 public funders, including The Heritage Fund, the Mayor’s Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund. When the project stalled due to floods from council flats above, SPID sued RBKC and worked with residents to make them bring the whole estate up to standard.
Capital Team
Client – SPID Theatre
Conservation Architect – Studio Sam Causer Ltd
Pre-Construction Management – The Cultural Engine
Construction Project Management – TGA Building Consultancy
Quantity Surveyor – Appleyard & Trew LLP
Structural Engineer – Stand Consulting Engineers
MEP Engineer – OR Consulting Engineers Ltd
Fire Consultant – Marshall Fire Ltd
Below Ground Drainage – Momentum Structural Engineers
Building Control – Salus
Access Consultant – Jane Toplis Associates Ltd
Historic Paint Analysis – Crick Smith
Condensation Analysis – Greengauge Building Energy Consultants
Press about SPID Theatre
A love letter to estates, ★★★★ The Guardian
Next stop must be the Commons, ★★★★ The Morning Star
The moral is clear – we can win this!, ★★★★ The Big Issue
Demonstrates vibrantly how art can be change, ★★★★ Everything Theatre
A passionate defence of social housing, ★★★★ The Stage
Press contact: Artistic Director Helena Thompson on helena@spidtheatre.com 07828 441 347