RCA shortlists designers of £108 million campus
The new campus will help the university contribute to fields of research such as connected cities, robotics, the internet of things and intelligent mobility.
Update 30 January 2018: The Royal College of Art’s (RCA) new building has been granted planning permission by Wandsworth Council. The campus is being designed by architectural practice Herzog & de Meuron. Work will begin on the site in spring 2018, and is scheduled to be completed in April 2020. Scroll down to see new renders of what the campus will look like.
The Royal College of Art has announced a shortlist of seven architectural practices for its new £108 million Battersea campus, which will help bring together design, technology, art and science faculties.
The university is looking to reposition itself as a STEAM-focused (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) institution.
In particular it wants to create research and knowledge exchange centres to cover computer and materials science and to look at the impact of the digital economy and intelligent mobility.
It will also look to contribute to the development and understanding of connected cities, robotics, the internet of things and intelligent mobility, sustainability, mass migration and city design.
Seven architects have been shortlisted: Christian Kerez (Switzerland); Diller Scofidio + Renfro (US); Herzog & de Meuron (Switzerland/UK); Lacaton & Vassal (France); Robbrecht en Daem architecten (Belgium); Serie Architects (UK/Singapore); and Studio Gang (US).
Rector of the RCA and chair of the Architectural Selection Panel Dr Paul Thompson says that “the building has to reflect the radical nature, experimentation and high design standards” of the RCA.
There are no visualisations of designs at this stage and Malcolm Reading Consultants, which is handling the competition, says that the winner will be announced in October.
New images:
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Well we now know Herzog & de Meuron has won and revealed design for the new £108 million RCA campus. It will of course earn it’s nickname as the Toblerone Factory of the Arts!