Camberwell College’s £62 million campus transformation

Camberwell College is to undergo a £62 million overhaul, which will see its Brutalist 1970s building given a facelift, while plans for a new academic extension and student accommodation have been designed to give the site a “campus feel”.

The scheme is being led by Stephen Marshall Architects, which has designed a master-plan for an extended site where the new building will abut the old one and house lecture theatres, studios and a library.

More than 260 students will live on the site

The new facade on the Peckham Road side of the building will bring improved access by the entrance where a new gallery and court-yard will be integrated.

In a bid to make the site feel more like a campus more than 260 student rooms will be created.

Camberwell College of Arts is one of six art colleges operated by University of the Arts London. Other include Central Saint Martins, and London College of Communication.

UAL Vice Chancellor Nigel Carrington says UAL will contribute to “the arts-led regeneration of Camberwell” which he calls “a major investment in our colleges facilities and the building of 264 new student rooms.”

UAL will meet the entire cost of the project

The total cost of the project is £62.8 million will be met by UAL. Of this £35.3 million will be spent on the halls of residence and £27.5 million on the academic building.

Design alumni of Camberwell College in recent years include designer and illustrator Kate Moross, illustrator Kyle Platts and multidisciplinary designers This Is Studio.

Others include film director Mike Leigh, musicians Syd Barrett and Florence Welch, and painter Sir Terry Frost.

UAL was rebranded by Pentagram partner Domenic Lippa in 2012, who said he had looked to bring the college brands under a new “bold and authoritative” umbrella identity, which still allowed each “a degree of autonomy”.