The good old days made good

摘要

This is the subtlest architecture imaginable: the architecture of invisibility. It is conservation but not restoration, a matter of arrested decay. A semi-ruinous small theatre building, a 'found space' which by sheer force of will had remained open to the public, is now safeguarded, but looks nearly exactly the same as it did before it closed for its £3m upgrade. I know this because Wilton's Music Hall in London's Wapping was, before this work part-funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, a place I periodically visited for performances, particularly music, and informal meetings, its peeling bars being a favoured haunt of journalists from the huge former News In- ternational complex nearby. Now that those newspapers have moved to London Bridge, Wilton's will be looking to the redeveloped Wapping site, masterplanned by Patel Taylor, to replace that daytime clientele alongside its new programme of ambitious productions.