On 23 May 2022, London’s Royal College of Art, the world’s leading art and design university, unveiled the new Battersea campus designed by internationally renowned firm Herzog & de Meuron. A £135 million project described by Sir Jony Ive, Rector of the Royal College of Art as “a new chapter in the life of the college and the inspirational work its graduates will bring into the world”.
Royal College of Art’s new campus designed by Herzog & de Meuron
The new project by the Swiss studio for what is probably the most important art and design university in the world was inaugurated on 23 May in Battersea, London.
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- Clara Rodorigo
- 26 May 2022
The expansion marks the transformation of the RCA into a STEAM-focused university (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics), expanding into computer and materials science, robotics, advanced manufacturing, complex visualisation and data science, and intelligent mobility.
The new campus consists of four floors of studios and laboratories designed as social and educational spaces, a 350 m² multifunctional hangar and a second, smaller one dedicated to robotics; it also includes the Rausing Research & Innovation Building, eight floors of space dedicated to independent research that houses, on the top floor, the Seminar & Conference Facility, for use by the College and external partners.
Herzog & de Meuron stated: “The RCA campus in Battersea is conceived as a porous and flexible ‘territory’ of platforms upon which the varied needs of the RCA curriculum are given space to change and grow, enabling the transformation of space as needed during this process. The studio and research buildings are designed as communities unto themselves – a place that encourages interactions between students, faculty and staff”. “Our intention is also to create a civic connector”, they continue, “encouraging circulation through the site and inviting exchange between members of the RCA community, the neighbourhood and wider city”.
The unveiling of the new campus coincided with the announcement of a new five-year strategy for 2022-2027, which will support new insights and leadership in the areas of mobility and urbanism, climate crisis and circular economy, ageing populations and inclusivity, design and AI. Among the goals is also the desire to increase the number of start-ups promoted by the InnovationRCA project.
The Lane Library Terrace, an external social space, in the Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. Photo © Iwan Baan.
The Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. It is the most significant campus development in the RCA’s 185-year history. Photo © Iwan Baan
The Linbury Sculpture Studios, in the Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. Photo © Iwan Baan.
The Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. It is the most significant campus development in the RCA’s 185-year history. Photo © Iwan Baan
The large-scale Hangar in the Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. This double height space has vast doors at each end to enable the installation of heavy, large, or complex works of art, and will be accessible to the wider public. Photo © Iwan Baan
The Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. It is the most significant campus development in the RCA’s 185-year history. Photo © Iwan Baan
The Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. It is the most significant campus development in the RCA’s 185-year history. Photo © Iwan Baan
The Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. It is the most significant campus development in the RCA’s 185-year history. Photo © Iwan Baan
The Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. It is the most significant campus development in the RCA’s 185-year history. Photo © Iwan Baan
The Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. It is the most significant campus development in the RCA’s 185-year history. Photo © Iwan Baan
The Robotics Hangar, in the Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. This space provides research testing and assembly areas, including aerial and aquatic robotics facilities. Photo © Iwan Baan.
The Intelligent Mobility Design Centre, in the Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. RCA graduates are at the forefront of vehicle design globally, and Intelligent Mobility builds on this history and places transportation within the context of urbanism, autonomous systems, renewable power, and ageing populations. Photo © Iwan Baan.
The Weston Studios, flexible third floor studio spaces, part of the Royal College of Art's new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, located in Battersea, London. Photo © Iwan Baan.
Architects Jacques Herzog, Ascan Megernthaler, Vice-Chancellor of the RCA, Paul Thompson, and Architect John O’Mara, unveil the Royal College of Art’s new £135m design and innovation campus, designed by Herzog & de Meuron on 23 May 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for The Royal College of Art)