Hackney People
Kevin Moore
It's not just about old buildings - good design can improve your life, according to Kevin Moore, Chair of the Hackney Society.
The 43-year-old has lived in Hackney for the best part of two decades, and is infectiously passionate about the borough's built environment - past, present and future.
He maintains that Hackney has a great many beautiful buildings, and what's important is they make an impact and contribute to the regeneration of an area.
"Good design and built environment can make an impact on people's lives," he says.
"Like some school programmes that have taken place, buildings can improve your education, such as the Bridge and Mossbourne academies.
"The pupils who go there are influenced by their surroundings, and their surroundings contribute to their education."
The impressive new academy buildings are rather different to Kevin's first experiences of Hackney back in 1992. He says: "I moved to Hoxton as it was the only place I could afford and it was central. There were mushrooms growing on the wall, but it was twice the size and half the price of everything else."
Despite this unpromising start, Kevin fell in love with the borough. He moved to Mare Street seven years later, and while renovating his current home (built in 1780), became interested in the history of the area, fuelled by a photograph of the property he found in the Hackney Archives, taken in 1905.
Kevin joined a Conservation Area Advisory Committee, which assists the Council in considering planning applications which could affect the character of a conservation area, and on design policies.
From there, he joined the Hackney Society, a voluntary group that works to preserve the borough's heritage and involve local people in conservation and regeneration, becoming Chair four years ago.
"While we campaign to save old buildings we equally try to make Hackney a better place to live and work in, and champion good design, building and architecture," he says.
"Gone are the days of moaning about things, it's trying to make things happen, and we're very pro new buildings.
"If you're going to construct something, it should be the best thing you can build - good contemporary architecture will be the listed building of the future," he adds.
The Hackney Society isn't just about influencing planning applications, however: there are organised walks, lectures, debates, a Podcast to
assist a stroll along the Olympic Park's boundaries, themed outings, an encyclopaedic website, projects including charting the history of Hackney's healthcare, as well as coffee table publications such as 'Hackney: Modern, Restored, Forgotten, Ignored'.
Kevin, who works as Chief Executive Officer of Walworth Garden Farm, an environmental education charity in south London, cites the Clapton Portico, in Linscott Road, and Bateman's Row, Shoreditch, as examples of some of Hackney's best buildings, as well as the newly restored Stoke Newington Town Hall, which he points out is one of only a few structures to retain Second World War camouflage on its exterior. He adds: "There are so many beautiful buildings in Hackney that need looking after."
Curriculum Vitae
- 1967 Born in Sheffield, Yorkshire
- 1986 Attends Birmingham School of Speech Training & Dramatic Art
- 1990 Moves to Earlsfield, South West London
- 1992 Moves to Hoxton
- 1993 Moves to Shepherd Market, Mayfair
- 1999 Moves to Mare Street
- 2001 Joins a Conservation Area Advisory Committee
- 2002 Becomes a member of the Hackney Society
- 2006 Made chair of the Hackney Society
More information
Hackney Society and the Council is looking for volunteers to help survey locally listed buildings. Email: lisa@hackneysociety.org; for more on the Society, call: 07771 225 183, or visit: www.hackneysociety.org
Page updated: 21 Jan 2011
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