Rex Cinema Rex Cinema Rex Cinema Project Sheet.pdf

Where: 281-285 Bethnal Green Road, E2

Who For: City Innovations

What: 21 residential units and 132 sqm commercial space 

Architect: Stephen Davy Peter Smith

Located on the fringe of Shoreditch in the heart of Bethnal Green Road, the site is within easy access of Bethnal Green Tube and Shoreditch High Street Overground stations. The site benefits from rear frontage to the mainly residential Florida Street just off Pollard Square, with all the attractions of Hackney just a short walk further north. Originally opened as Smart’s Picture House in April 1913, it was re-modelled by architect George Coles in 1938 and re-opened as the Rex Cinema. It was then owned by Frankle Trimmings, a wholesale fashion industry retailer. A key facet of the design is the retention of the original art-deco fin tower and curved recess above the entrance. Planning permission was achieved in January 2016 from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets for the comprehensive and sensitive redevelopment of the site to create 21 new apartments either side of an internal landscaped courtyard plus commercial space, in all totalling circa 25,000 sq ft. This project received a lot of interest in the press with articles being published with the likes of The Metro, The Evening Standard and Absolutely East.

  • Borough: Tower Hamlets
  • Scale: Major
  • Status: Approved
  • Sector: Housing, Mixed Use