Archinect - News

Herzog & de Meuron's new Royal College of Art Battersea Campus opens to the public

2022-05-23T17:49:00-04:00

Big news today as Herzog & de Meuron’s anticipated expansion of the Royal College of Art has officially opened in the Battersea district of London.

Characterized by a fusion of seven separate facilities into one combined structure, the new £135 million ($169 million) complex entails the creation of new social and educational spaces for the Sculpture, Contemporary Art Practice, and Moving Image departments as well as for the RCA’s School of Design.

Photo: Iwan Baan, image courtesy Royal College of Art

The 15,500-square-meter (167,000-square-foot) campus also sought to aid the shift in the 185-year-old institution's postgraduate offerings towards a more strengthened set of STEAM programs, which is seen in the addition of a new tech-centric eight-story research center, robotics hangar, and a center for enterprise, entrepreneurship, incubation and business support called InnovationRCA.

Photo: Iwan Baan, image courtesy Royal College of Art

Writing in the Guardian today, critic Oliver Wain...

Battersea Power Station site closure extended until end of April

2020-04-01T21:02:00-04:00

Work on the giant Battersea Power Station redevelopment site will not restart until the end of April at the earliest. Construction was paused last week on the scheme where Mace and Sir Robert McAlpine are main contractors on phase two and three. But an update from Battersea Power Station Development Company boss Simon Murphy has clarified the client’s position.

As COVID-19 health precautions are being tightened in the UK, London's in-progress Battersea Power Station megadevelopment also just extended its temporary site closure through the end of April.

The delay impacts construction progress on the $11 billion project master-planned by Rafael Viñoly Architects and featuring buildings and exterior spaces designed by BIG, Gehry Partners, Foster + Partners, James Corner Field Operations, and LDA Design.

Rendering of the completed Battersea Power Station development.

"Following the temporary closure of the site last week we have concluded that, in light of the government requirements and guidelines, the site should remain closed for the next few weeks," reads a statement published by Simon Murphy, CEO of the Battersea Power Station Development Company.

"We will review the position again on 17 April and if deemed appropriate to reopen, mainsite works would recommence on 27 April. In this period the only people working on site will...

The late Will Alsop's unconventional housing block Heliport Heights to be built along the river in Battersea

2018-08-24T14:55:00-04:00

Heliport Heights, an unconventional orange-steel housing block and the final major London project designed by the late British architect Will Alsop, will be moving forward. The 20 story building, comprised of 15 floors of apartments built atop the pre-existing Heliport House, is set to rise along the river in Battersea and expected to complete in 2020.

Approval of the project, which is intended to fill the unsightly gap on London's south bank skyline, was granted back in 2014. However, shortly thereafter, construction was stalled when the developer Damsonetti UK went into administration. With financing now back on track, Heliport Heights is scheduled to resume within the next few months according to Alsop's studio aLL Design.

Heliport Heights model by Will Alsop at the Royal Academy.

Plans involve 15 stories of apartments rising above an existing four-story building using stilts, a feature common in Alsop's work that will allow existing tenants to remain in-situ in the Heliport Hou...

Herzog & de Meuron's $153 million Royal College of Art expansion receives council approval

2018-01-30T16:16:00-05:00

The Royal College of Art’s flagship new building, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, has been granted planning permission by Wandsworth Council. The building is part of a £108m investment programme in the RCA – the most radical transformation of the institution’s campus in its 181-year history.

The RCA Battersea South Campus expansion will be the new home of the school's Arts & Humanities programs (Sculpture and Contemporary Art Practice), Design programs (Design Products, Fashion and Textiles), Global Innovation Design and Innovation Design Engineering (delivered jointly with Imperial College London), and new additional programs focusing on computer and material science, wearable technology, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and intelligent mobility.

The College expects work on the site to commence in spring 2018 and reach completion in April 2020, just in time for the 2020/21 academic year.

Previously on Archinect.

Royal College of Art submits Herzog & de Meuron's designs for its new Battersea South Campus to London city council

2017-11-03T13:43:00-04:00

The Royal College of Art (RCA) has submitted proposals to Wandsworth Council for a £108 million state-of-the art building for postgraduate students and entrepreneurs, which will secure the RCA’s future in Battersea and deliver new studios, workshops and incubator units required to support its future growth.

Exactly one year ago, Herzog & de Meuron was announced as the competition-winning architects for the Royal College of Art's new £108 million Battersea South campus. The project, sitting adjacent to RCA's existing Dyson, Woo and Sackler Buildings, reached another milestone this week with the College submitting the proposed designs to Wandsworth Council.

Herzog & de Meuron will design Royal College of Art's Battersea campus

2016-11-11T18:02:00-05:00

The Swiss architects were deemed the “clear choice” for the £108m project over a competitive shortlist including Christian Kerez (Switzerland), Diller Scofidio + Renfro (US) Lacaton & Vassal (France), Robbrecht en Daem architecten (Belgium), Serie Architects (UK/Singapore), and Studio Gang (US).

As reported by Bustler: "Herzog & de Meuron's initial concept won the Architectural Selection Panel's favor with a clear organizational structure that demonstrated an in-depth understanding of the potential of the Battersea site, among other factors."

Check out H&dM's initial concept renderings below: