Parking performance spaces

Car parks lend themselves to being used as galleries, theatres and cinemas

The Multi-Story Orchestra perform at the Rye Lane car park in Peckham

The Multi-Story Orchestra perform at the Rye Lane car park in Peckham

What do you do with an old multi-storey car park? Demolish it and replace it with something else would seem to be the obvious answer. However, how about using these austere but capacious structures as spaces within which emerging artists and entrepreneurs can explore new performance and business models. This has been the fate of the long unused Rye Lane car park in Peckham, south London, which has become home to ‘pop-up’ exhibitions, film screenings, music recitals and even a rooftop cocktail bar.

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And existing car parks can be used as artistic and performance spaces. This is the case with the Springbridge Road car park in Ealing, which is hosting a rooftop cinema screenings this summer. Use of the multi-storey drops off significantly during the summer as commuters take a break from work. So, for the second year running, Ealing council has agreed for Ealing Broadway Business Improvement District (BID) to transform Level 7 into a cinema and bar. The event is funded by the BID and staged by event management firm Cellar Door and not-for-profit community group the Rooftop Film Club.

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