Belsize Studio Fine Arts College
“The proposed alterations to the front and side elevations and roof would significantly improve the appearance of the host property and would preserve and enhance the conservation area.”
Client & Brief:
The project involved the renovation and remodelling of a historic 1930s derelict gym building to create new arts facilities for the Hampstead Fine Arts College. This re-imagining needed to completely restructure the internal layout and function of the building to create new teaching and support spaces. These new spaces include a new double height multi-purpose space, a dance studio, a photography studio, art studio’s, additional learning spaces, and student social spaces.
Hampstead Fine Arts College, part of the Dukes Education Group, are the only independent college in London for sixth formers specialising in the Arts and Humanities. The college gives equal weighting to creative and academic fields of study, with many subjects taught by professional practicing artists. Providing great spaces for these creative activities was central to the projects brief and aims.
Site Description and History:
The site location sits in close proximity to the Fine Arts College’s current location, in Belsize, London. The site occupies a narrow strip of land that has limited street access and limited access to daylight or views. The existing building was a composite of various historic extensions, additions and renovations.
The original core of the building is formed from a 1930s gym building that originally held two squash courts and associated support facilities. Over time, this has been added to and extended, with the building weaving into and around the neighbouring properties. As a result of this history, the existing condition of the building was a mishmash of spaces and facilities. The circulation through the building was convoluted and inefficient, with insufficient accessibility provision.
The existing building has been reshaped and upgraded to create a welcoming, vibrant and enjoyable space to learn and teach. The layout has been designed to provide a coherent and legible flow throughout the building, creating a sense of arrival and comfort.
Design Strategies:
To provide great learning spaces for the school several design strategies have been developed to reshape the existing building. These strategies have focused upon improving the buildings circulation, accessibility, access to daylight, and ecological benefit.
The new design includes three new stair cores, along with a new lift core, that dramatically improves internal accessibility, fire safety, and flow. A new external walkway has been created at the side of the building, allowing daylight to penetrate deeper into the building and improving the arrivals of students.
The architectural design focuses upon promoting user wellbeing through the crafting of beautiful spaces and thoughtful internal environments. A sensitive palate of materials is used to revitalise the existing fabric, whilst maintaining its defining character and respecting its history.
Ecological Enhancement:
Despite the existing sites constrained area and lack of adequate external space, the proposed design aims to achieve significant ecological enhancement upon the site. A new green roof system has been installed across the majority of the roof area, providing a large new habitat for wildlife. Complementing this, a new area of rich, elegant, planting, including a new tree, has been created at the front of the building. Not only does this new street-facing area provide an aesthetic and wellbeing benefit to users, it also provides a rich, varied new habitat for wild life.
Additional ecological enhancements include an area of green wall and habitat boxes. These measures are specifically focused are providing new habitats for birds and bats, with the green wall area providing new areas of cover and nesting.
BREEAM:
The design has achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating, with credits achieved in low carbon design, energy consumption, renewable energy generation, life cycle cost, environmental management, responsible construction, visual comfort, air quality, thermal comfort, ecology and waste management, amongst others.
An attention to sustainability and BREEAM methodology was incorporated into the design process from the outset, ensuring that the architectural designs development maximised the environmental and sustainability benefit achieved by the project.
Construction Process:
The existing building was an incredibly complex structure, consisting of many layers of additions, material, and building techniques. Unpicking the existing building and reshaping it was a delicate process that required a thorough understanding of the existing buildings composition.
Construction works involved the stripping out of the building, returning it to is structural shell. The proposed upgrades to circulation and window openings required the manipulation of the buildings structure and envelope. Significant structural additions have been threaded into the buildings envelope to allow new spaces and circulation to be created.
-
Client
Dukes Education + Hampstead Fine Arts College -
Location
Belsize -
Budget
Private -
Design Team
MHA Structural Design
Max Fordham
RUA
Eight Versa
MKA Ecology
Osborn Associates
DWD Planning Associates
Robert West -
Team
Robin Dryer, Shane Collins, David Masters, Elliot Shaw, Ciara Fitzpatrick, Andrew Kelso, Molly Blackwell, Joseph Smith -
Images
CDC Studio