| Harlow Civic Centre | |
| Coordinates: | 51.7676°N 0.0938°W |
| Location: | Water Gardens, Harlow |
| Built: | 2004 |
| Architect: | Benoy Architects |
| Architecture: | Modern style |
Harlow Civic Centre is a municipal building in Harlow, a town in Essex, in England. It is the offices and meeting place of Harlow District Council.
After Harlow was designated as a new town on 25 March 1947, the new Harlow Development Corporation commissioned its own offices, Adams House on the east side of the Market Square. A simple, three storey office block, it was designed by a Manchester-born architect, John Graham, and completed in the early 1950s.[1]
Harlow became an urban district in 1955,[2] and the new council was initially accommodated at Netteswell Hall and Netteswell House, on Park Lane.[3] However, the new council leaders needed a permanent meeting place and the site they chose was on the south side of Cross Street in an area known as The High.[4] The new town hall was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd in the modern style, built in concrete and was officially opened by Lord Attlee in 1960.[5] [6] [7] The design involved a nine-storey tower with a rooftop viewing room which was designed by John Graham.[8] Gibberd had originally wanted the tower to be at least 15 storeys high but cost constraints did not allow that.[9]
By the early 21st century, the town hall was becoming increasingly dilapidated and civic leaders decided to demolish it, and to commission a new mixed-use complex involving a retail mall and new civic offices. The site selected incorporated the footprint of the old town hall but also extended south towards a landscaped area, which contained concrete lined pools known as the Water Gardens.[10] The old town hall was demolished in 2002.[11] The Water Gardens, which contained a series of sculptures by Henry Moore, had to be severely truncated to accommodate the new development.[12]
The new complex was designed by Benoy Architects in the modern style,[13] built in concrete and glass and was officially opened by Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester on 19 May 2004.[14] The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage facing south onto the gardens. The civic centre was at the west end of the complex and featured a three bay rectangular portico formed by columns supporting a balcony and a series of huge louvres on the first floor. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber, located behind the louvres.[15] [16] The proclamation of King Charles III was read out from the balcony on 11 September 2022.[17]
Works of art in the civic centre include a painting by André Verlon entitled "Barrage".[18]