Royal College of Art - Kensington and Battersea Campuses
Royal College of Art - Kensington and Battersea Campuses
We gave strategic conservation advice for the RCA campuses at both Kensington and Battersea.
Its Grade II listed campus in Kensington opened in 1963, with a Brutalist building by H. T. Cadbury-Brown conceived as a robust, multi-storey workshop for the teaching of industrial arts including textiles, furniture, ceramics and stained glass.
We first undertook an assessment of significance and reviewed options for its future in collaboration with architects Allies and Morrison before advising on a separate masterplan by Witherford Watson Mann architects and Clementine Blakemore Architects. This focused on improving the building’s accessibility and the quality of student learning and exhibition spaces, as well as upgrading the environmental performance of the building as the College moved towards its net zero target. Following approval of the masterplan, RIBA stage 1 of the full redevelopment began in early 2025.
For the College’s Battersea campus, the College wanted to redevelop their sculpture school and a number of neighbouring buildings into a major second campus, combining teaching, gallery and studio facilities as well as commercial retail space. The site occupied a prominent position in a conservation area, and included a mix of early Victorian shops, twentieth century infill development and several large industrial sheds. Our role included analysing the historic character of the site and its relationship to the rest of the conservation area, so that architects Haworth Tompkins could develop their proposals. We then produced a justification which argued successfully for the demolition of the existing buildings and erection of a contemporary purpose-built structure. The completed building became the Dyson Building, which opened in 2009. It was followed by the Woo Building in 2015 and the RCA Battersea building in 2022, designed by Herzog & de Meuron.
Client: Royal College of Art
Architect: Various