community/cultural
Julian Sofaer, 1978
Canal Club Community Garden, Belmont Wharf, Waterloo Gardens, E2 9HP
The Canal Club is the community Centre for Wellington Estate, designed in 1978 by the modernist architect Julian Sofaer. Its community gardens were opened later by the boating community moored alongside the centre.
Bethnal Green
Cambridge Heath, Haggerston, Hoxton
55, 309, D3, 106, 254, D6, 26, 388
The Wellington Estate community centre, nicknamed 'the Canal Club', was designed in 1978 by Iraqi-Jewish architect Julian Sofaer. Sofaer had a number of commissions for the London County Council and Greater London Council during the postwar era. Many of these commissions were school and community buildings like ours, and Wellington Estate residents remember being taken to visit such buildings and choosing their centre's needs before Sofaer was commissioned.
Sofaer was a highly principled architect, obsessed by form and detail, the artistic disciplines of music, and the Florentine Renaissance. He worked within a life enhancing and humanist perspective. The modest building opens up to the Regents Canal and its roof is subtly sloped in many directions such that it never casts shadow onto the canal.
In its early days, the Canal Club was a fully functioning community centre. From 1981-1995 the Wellington Tenants' and Residents Association' (initially with GLC support) established a nursery, youth centre and laundrette (later in 1986 and now closed) on the site. It was a model of the Greater London Council’s funded community spaces of the 1970/80s.
In the 2000's, it started housing a private playgroup, and eventually the playgroup took over the space. While the council was curbing the community's access to the building itself, they allowed a community of boaters to moor alongside it, on the proviso they open and run a public garden, nestled between the Canal Club, its basketball court, and the canal itself.
Today, the playgroup has been moved to another building, while the council plan to demolish and redevelop Sofaer's community centre. The Wellington Estate Tenants and Residents currently run the community centre while awaiting news of its future and whether the site will be demolished for redevelopment. Adjacent the community garden is a haven for residents and wildlife. The Canal Club hosts a wide variety of community activities and events including Young People Theatre Workshops, Refugee Support, The Grand Union Orchestra Musical Workshop, a regular weekly Arts and Crafts workshop and a Community Art Exhibition of locals’ art work. We share dreams of saving the building, garden, canalside biodiversity they foster and the emissions cost in redeveloping.
The building will be open for viewing and a tour will cover the social history of the building and the resident campaign to save it. There is a display of local artists' work. The Canal Club Community Garden will be open and hosting children's art activities and a pizza making club where you can make a pizza (bring along your favourite toppings - we will supply the dough).
Drop in
art studio, art in the public realm, bridge, historical house, residence, walk/tour, event
Join us this year at 'TIME' '24 for an assemblage of workshops and creative out-reach projects, communicating through artistic expression the notion of time and place in gesture and performance through drawing, painting, portraiture, sculpture, poetry, photography and film, capturing individuality, in the street, and beyond, to sow the seeds of a new time.
Unknown, 1890
