East Square Cinema
Basildon East Square is at the heart of the wider town centre regeneration programme for Basildon Borough Council, creating a brand-new leisure square for the main hub of activity.
The construction of a new retail and leisure development in the town centre provides a new 10-screen cinema, six new restaurant units with outdoor dining opportunities, along with significant improvements to the public realm.
Key points
Meeting Acoustic Performance
Built on a combination of Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) and Continuous Helical Displacement (CHD) piles, the steel frame building had to provide ten auditoria of varying sizes, including space for the largest cinema screen outside of Leicester Square in the South East.
Each auditoria had to adhere to the very strict acoustic performance requirements demanded by Empire. To ensure the exact requirements for acoustic performance are met, McLaren are working with acoustic engineers who specialise in cinema design, integrating them into the team.
To comply with these requirements, nearly 20000 sheets of plasterboard have been fixed to walls and ceilings up to eight boards thick.
The façades were a combination of coloured zinc hexagonal shingles and rectangular cassettes, with a colonnade of shop fronts in Glass-Fibre Reinforced Concrete (GRC) and curtain walling to match the appearance of other town centre buildings. This design was inspired by the ceramic mosaics located on Freedom House, which was demolished as part of the site preparation works.
Ehancing Community spaces and preserving local hertiage
The building’s façade features a striking combination of coloured zinc hexagonal shingles and rectangular cassettes, complemented by a colonnade of shop fronts in Glass-Fibre Reinforced Concrete (GRC) and curtain walling. This design paid homage to the ceramic mosaics of Freedom House, which was removed during site preparation.
McLaren also facilitated the reinstatement of the iconic 'Man Aspires' sculpture and supported the installation of a Radion Project artwork that reflects Basildon’s rich natural and cultural heritage. Located in a bustling town centre adjacent to a residential tower, the site maintained strong community engagement through a dedicated Community Liaison Officer and a public-facing website offering updates, events, and job opportunities.
In addition to the cinema, McLaren revitalised the East Square community open space and completed enabling works for the future development of the post office residential site, continuing their commitment to enhancing the local environment.
