New teaching and event spaces to be added to grade II-listed Darwin Building as university prepares to leave White City campus
Witherford Watson Mann Architects has unveiled plans for a £90m renewal of the Royal College of Art’s grade II-listed campus in Kensington.
The Stirling Prize winner has been working on proposals to modernise the Darwin building in what the university says will be a “careful balance of conservation and transformation”.
The Darwin Building was completed in 1963 to designs by three RCA staff members, HT Cadbury-Brown, Hugh Casson and Robert Goodden, and was listed in 2001.
A phased programme of works set to start later this year will add new teaching and learning spaces, modernise existing studios and workshops and open up the campus with step-free access and new public areas.
A historic entrance facing the Royal Albert Hall will be reinstated to provide a “striking new gateway”, with the scheme also set to contain a new cafe, gallery and event spaces.
The scheme’s unveiling comes four months after the RCA announced it would vacate its Allies & Morrison-designed White City campus from March 2027 after just ten years at the site, which opened in 2017.
RCA president and vice-chancellor, professor Christoph Lindner, said the Kensington project represents a major investment in the future of the Royal College of Art.
“With the renovation of our historic Kensington site, the RCA will once again operate from two central London campuses – Kensington and Battersea – bringing our community together with a new creative energy, driving cross-disciplinary exploration, with dynamic spaces to innovate, question and discover.”
The university said the project is aiming to generate long-term savings through increased energy efficiency and consolidated campuses. Teaching and research will continue throughout construction with work expected to complete in 2032.
Founded in 1837, the RCA has been ranked the world’s number one university for art and design for 11 consecutive years, according to QS World Rankings.
Witherford Watson Mann’s restoration of the fire-damaged Astley Castle in Warwickshire was awarded the Stirling Prize in 2013.
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