new university of the arts london campus central … · will be the new university of the arts...

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To the north of King’s Cross and St Pancras International railway stations, 67-acres of derelict land are being transformed in what is one of Europe’s largest urban regeneration projects. The result will be a vibrant mixed-use quarter, at the physical and creative heart of which will be the new University of the Arts London campus, home of Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design.

Stanton Williams’ design for the £200m new campus unites the college’s activities under one roof for the first time. It provides Central Saint Martins with a substantial new building, connected at its southern end to the Granary Building, a rugged survivor of the area’s industrial past. The result is a state-of-the-art facility that not only functions as a practical solution to the college’s needs but also aims to stimulate creativity, dialogue and student collaboration. A stage for transformation, a framework of flexible spaces that can be orchestrated and transformed over time by staff and students where new interactions and interventions, chance and experimentation can create that slip-steam between disciplines, enhancing the student experience. The coming together of all the schools of Central Saint Martins will open up that potential.

The design aims to maximise the connections between departments within the building, with student and material movement being considered 3-dimensionally, as a flow diagram North to South, East to West, and up and down – similar in many ways to how the grain was distributed around the site using wagons and turntables.

King’s Cross offered a unique opportunity: a large site within what promises to be a creative and cultural hub, connected (via King’s Cross Station and the restored St Pancras International) not only to the rest of Britain but also to mainland Europe, plus the chance to develop a robust contemporary architectural response to the boldness of the existing buildings on the site.

The Granary Building itself has been restored as the main ‘front’ of the college, facing a new public square that steps down to the Regent’s Canal. The building was designed in 1851 to receive grain from the wheat fields of Lincolnshire, unloaded here from railway wagons onto canal boats for onward transport to the capital’s bakeries. It comprises a solid, six-storey cubic mass, with an unadorned, 50-metre wide brick elevation, extended to 100-metres by office additions flanking the building. To the north, located one to each side of the Granary Building, are two parallel 180 metres long Transit Sheds. The design strategy retains the Granary Building, adapted to include functions such as the college’s library, while the Eastern Transit Shed behind is converted to create spectacular workshops for the college. Within the street-level openings of the Western Transit Shed, new shops and bars will add further life to the area. The historic horse stables below the Eastern Transit Sheds have been transformed to new cycle stores for students and staff.

Project DescriptionOctober 2011

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The bulk of the college’s accommodation, however, is located in a major addition to the site, two substantial new studio buildings that occupy the space between the two transit sheds and which, at the North end of the site present a contemporary elevation to the surrounding area. The scale of the new addition responds closely to that of the Granary Building, essentially continuing its massing along the length of the site. It rises above the level of the transit sheds, using contemporary materials so that it will stand, beacon-like, as a symbol of the college’s presence within this rapidly-evolving part of London. The two new four storey studio buildings are arranged at either side of a covered central ‘street’, some 110m long, 12m wide and 20m high, covered by a translucent ETFE roof and punctuated by a regular rhythm of service cores that accommodate lifts, stairs and toilets. At the northern end, a new centre for the Performing Arts will house a fully equipped theatre complete with fly-tower as well as rehearsal and teaching spaces.

The internal ‘street’ has been conceived as a dynamic area, an arena for student life, akin to the much-loved stair at the centre of the college’s previous main building. Bridges linking the various cores and workspaces cross it, offering break-out areas for meeting, relaxing and people-watching and exchanging ideas. The street will be used for exhibitions, fashion shows and performances, the spaces being large enough to build temporary pavilions for example. Viewing points allow students to watch others working or performing, and the work of other disciplines can be seen and exhibited.

At the southern end of the new block and running parallel with the north end of the Granary Building is a second covered ‘street’, offering public access through this part of the building interior. Lifts rising through this space recall the vertical movement of grain, which gave the complex its original purpose. Flooring details either retain existing turntables or hint at their historic location, while within the Granary Building itself, the hoists have been retained, crowning a newly inserted lightwell. Simple glazing maintain the integrity of the unbroken openings, rhythmically punctuating the Granary Building’s main façade.

The new University of the Arts London campus is one of the first parts of the King’s Cross development to be completed. As such, it not only provides Central Saint Martins with the flexible and dynamic spaces that it needs to educate and develop the artists and designers of the future, but also makes a firm statement of the role of the Arts in the quarter, to which it will give critical mass and energy.

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Facts and Figures

The £200m campus brings together 4,000 Central Saint Martins students and 1,000 staff under one roof.

It is made up of:

• 10 acres of floor space• Over 1.3 million timber blocks• Enough concrete to fill eight Olympic swimming pools

The three-storey building is based around an internal street, naturally lit through a translucent roof.

It contains four levels of multi-purpose workshops and specialist studios, including:• Performance design and practice labs• Casting, wood fabrication and metal fabrication workshops• Post-production workshops• Film, effects and sound studios• Architecture and spatial studios• Fashion and textiles studios• Photography studios and darkrooms• Product and industrial design studios• Graphic and communication design studios• Jewellery workshops• Art studios

The campus is also home to a 350 seat public theatre with its own entrance.

It occupies the Grade II listed Granary Building, built in 1851, which managed the storage and distribution of grain at the height of the Victorian industrial boom.

It faces onto Granary Square which, when completed in June 2012, will be one of London’s largest public squares

The campus has been designed by architects Stanton Williams and forms part of King’s Cross, a 67 acre development in central London – a new piece of the city with a brand new postcode, London N1C. King’s Cross is being developed by the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership, which brings together Argent Group, London & Continental Railways and DHL Supply Chain.

Project Details

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Key ValuesProject Value: £200M (based on cost of land, building, fit-out and expansion incl. third floor)

Key datesConstruction Start date: January 2008Completion Date: April 2011Date of Occupation: August 2011Construction phase: January 2008 - August 2011 (Incl. fit-out)Student arrival: 3rd October 2011

Building DetailsPostal Address: Granary Building, 1 Granary Square, London, N1C 4AAGross Internal Area: approx. 40,000m2

Design teamSite Developer: ArgentTenant: University of the Arts LondonArchitect: Stanton WilliamsStructure: Scott WilsonEnvironmental / M&E engineering: Atelier 10Architectural lighting: Spiers and MajorQuantity Surveyor / Employer’s Agent: Davis LangdonLandscape Architect: Townsend Landscape Architects.Facade consultant: Arup Facades EngineeringCDM coordinator: Scott Wilson.

Contractor team – base buildMain contractor: Bam Construction LimitedContractor’s Architect: Bam Design (new buildings) / Weedon Partnership (Granary)Conservation Architect: Richard Griffiths ArchitectsStructure: Bam Design (new buildings) AKS Lister Beare (existing structure)M&E engineering: Bam DesignFire consultant: AecomAcoustic consultant: Sandy Brown AssociatesAccess consultant: All Clear Design

Contractor team – fit-outContractor: OverburyInterior fit-out Architect: Pringle BrandonM&E consultant: AECOMFire consultant: AECOMTheatre consultant: Drama by DesignAcoustic consultant: Sandy Brown Associates

Project Details

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Architects: Stanton Williams

Stanton Williams is an award winning international architectural practice based in London. The firm has developed its portfolio from an initial focus on museums and galleries towards a wide variety of projects, all of which demonstrate the practice’s over-arching objective of putting the user’s experience of space, light and materials at the forefront of the agenda. Projects include: Tower Hill, the recently completed Sainsbury Laboratory in the University of Cambridge’s botanical gardens and the Hackney Marshes Centre. Current projects include: the Stadtmuseum Berlin, the Grand Musée d’Art de Nantes and the Eton Manor site for the London Olympics 2012.

“It has been a privilege to work on such an ambitious scheme that will bring life back to the Granary Complex. Our design draws inspiration from the ambition and scale of its Victorian architectural setting and introduces a strong contemporary intervention that celebrates the juxtaposition of old and new in its detailing. The thought of 4,000 students inhabiting this once redundant and isolated building on a daily basis is breathtaking. Our consistent aim has really been to create a stage for transformation, a framework of spaces that can be orchestrated and transformed over time by staff and students where new interactions and interventions, chance and experimentation can create that slip-steam between disciplines. The coming together of all the schools of Central Saint Martins will open up that potential.” Paul Williams

Press ContactMeike StockmannMarketing & Communications Manager

[email protected]: 020 7880 6453

www.stantonwilliams.com

Notes to Editors

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University of the Arts London

University of the Arts London is a collegiate university made up of six internationally renowned arts, design and communication colleges:

• Camberwell College of Arts• Central Saint Martins• Chelsea College of Art and Design• London College of Communication• London College of Fashion• Wimbledon College of Art

Home to almost 20,000 students from 109 countries, the University is one of the world’s largest provider of education in arts, design, fashion, communication and the performing arts. The quality of its teaching attracts almost 5,400 international students, 2,700 from EU countries and over 11,000 from the UK.

Its alumni include:

• Twelve Turner Prize winners and more than half of all Turner Prize nominees

• Ten out of the 17 designers named British Designer of the Year since 1986

• Over half of the designers showcased at London Fashion Week 2011

• Twelve out of 30 winners of the Jerwood Photography Award • Oscar and Bafta winners including:

• Sarah Greenwood (Wimbledon) won 2008 BAFTA for production design for work on Atonement

• Michael Please (Wimbledon) won 2011 BAFTA for Best Short Animated Film

• Anthony Dod Mantle (LCC) won Oscar in 2009 for cinematography in Slumdog Millionaire

• Sandy Powell (CSM), costume designer, won Oscar three times and BAFTA twice for films including Shakespeare In Love and The Young Victoria

The University has won three prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for:

• Paper conservation teaching and technology (Camberwell, 1996)• Creativity and innovation in fashion education (CSM, 1998)• Educating the world’s creative shoe and accessory designers

(LCF, 2007)

Press ContactAbigail SmithHead of External and Internal RelationsCommunication and External AffairsUniversity of the Arts London

[email protected]: 020 7514 6218Mob: 07702 678622

www.arts.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

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Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design

An internationally renowned centre for teaching and research in arts and design, Central Saint Martins was formed in 1989 from the merger of the Central School of Arts and Crafts (founded in 1896) and St Martin’s School of Art (founded in 1854).

Its portfolio was further broadened in 1999 following a merger with Drama Centre London, and again in 2003 when Byam Shaw School of Art joined CSM.

Graduates of its Schools of Art, Fashion & Textiles, Graphic & Industrial Design and the recently created Performing Arts are amongst the most renowned names of the creative industries, and include:Sarah Burton, Hussein Chalayan, Jarvis Cocker, Sir Terence Conran, Sir James Dyson, Anthony Gormley, Tom Hardy, PJ Harvey, Stephen Jones, Isaac Julien, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, M.I.A., Phoebe Philo, Sandy Powell, Raquib Shaw, Yinka Shonibare, Posy Simmonds and Joe Wright.

The College is home to multidisciplinary research centres including Design Against Crime and the Textiles Futures Research Centre. It works closely with industry partners to apply its findings and expertise.

Press ContactJo OrtmansPress OfficerCentral Saint Martins College of Arts and DesignUniversity of the Arts London

[email protected]: 020 7514 8098

www.csm.arts.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

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About King’s Cross

King’s Cross is a 67-acre development in central London. We are creating 8 million sq ft (743,200 sqm) of mixed use space – a new piece of the city with a brand new postcode, London N1C.

In total, the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership project is delivering up to 2,000 new homes (more than 40% will be affordable), 3.4m sq ft net of office space and 500,000sq ft of retail space. There will be 20 new streets, 10 major public spaces, 50 new buildings and 20 historic buildings and structures are being restored and refurbished across the site.

To date 22% of the 8 millon sq ft development is now ‘taken’ with seven significant agreements confirmed at King’s Cross. In order of moving in they are:

1. University of the Arts London – 5,000 staff and students of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design who have started term at King’s Cross (September 2011)

2. RAM – which is re-opening the Great Northern Hotel in 20123. One Housing Group – will own and manage hundreds of

affordable homes. The first two buildings are on site and the first homes will be ready in 2012

4. Urbanest UK – will deliver a 657-bedroom landmark student housing scheme ready for occupation in September 2013

5. 5. Camden Council – move into a new office building at Three Pancras Square in 2014 which will also have a major public leisure facility, library and access centre

6. BNP Paribas Real Estate – who will move into a new 340,000sq ft office building at Plot B1. Work is due to begin in autumn 2012, with delivery by the end of 2014

7. The Aga Khan Development Network and King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership have entered into agreements to develop educational, office, cultural, retail and residential spaces. Construction is due to start in late 2012.

Around King’s Cross, over £2bn has been invested in St Pancras – King’s Cross transport interchange – which is used by over 400,000 people every day. The latest investment, a new concourse for King’s Cross station, opens in 2012.

The King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership is investing over £250m in public realm, energy and other infrastructure including:

• Granary Square – one of the largest public squares in London• The energy centre and district heating grid – which will supply all

the new buildings with low carbon heat and power – making us one of the most sustainable developments to come forward in London

• A new bridge across the Regent’s Canal into Granary Square – which is now open – as well as major improvements and access to the canal and its towpath

• 20 new roads including ‘King’s Boulevard’, the first major street to be built in London in 100 years, which is now open.

For more information visit www.kingscross.co.uk

Notes to Editors

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About King’s Cross

King’s Cross is being developed by the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership, which brings together: • Argent King’s Cross Limited Partnership backed by Argent Group

PLC, one of the UK’s best respected property development companies and Hermes Real Estate on behalf of the BT Pension Scheme. Argent is the Asset Manager for King’s Cross Central.

• London and Continental Railways Limited is a UK Government-owned property company whose primary focus is the important regeneration projects at King’s Cross Central and The International Quarter, Stratford City. Previously LCR delivered the award-winning High Speed 1 Railway including the rebirth of St Pancras International.

• DHL Supply Chain is a world-class provider of supply chain solutions.

For more information about King’s Cross and images contact:

Emma Cassidy London Communications Agency

[email protected]: 020 7612 8478 Mob: 07917 728131

or

Robert Gordon Clark London Communications Agency

[email protected]: 020 7612 8480 Mob: 07973 148238

Notes to Editors

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new university of the arts london campus central … · will be the new university of the arts...

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