
One of Lithuania’s most popular café chains, Huracán is a young, enthusiastic company that’s passionate about perfect coffee, the customer experience, and supporting the farmers and families it works with.
Dating back to 1937, the Grade II listed* Hackney Town Hall was overdue for refurbishment. As part of an extensive 12-year, 12,500m² restoration, there was an opportunity to transform its dated, underused interior courtyards into multi-functional atria that pay homage to the building’s original Art Deco aesthetic while creating a striking new look.
The team achieved this by painstakingly creating full height, bronzed aluminium wall panels using a METAL Wallcoustic Horizon 1000 wall absorberts with custom laser perforations. These perforations, designed to individual, photographic patterns, echoed the original brickwork while arrestingly incorporating a butterfly effect to diffuse light into the space. With the creation of this feature – not to mention the increased energy efficiency of the building and the diversion of 97% of waste from landfill – the regeneration of Hackney Town Hall received a RIBA Award in 2018.
*A protected historic building.