Following a surgical, five-year-long refresh, the Royal Academy Schools in London, have unveiled their new home – courtesy of David Chipperfield Architects (also behind the Royal Academy Arts' expanded campus in 2018), who worked with heritage specialists Julian Harrap Architects towards a delicate redesign of the education institution's main base on Piccadilly. The buildings, now to be called The Julia and Hans Rausing Campus as a nod to the lead gift that made this important restoration and reimagining possible, have now received the art students who have been invited this week to occupy their new home and work on-site towards the end-of-year shows that approach.
Royal Academy Schools: a delicate refresh
With the RA Schools, DCA took its signature, gentle and respectful approach in giving the formerly cramped and tangled studio spaces a much-needed makeover - while ensuring the buildings' - and function's - character is not lost along the way. To this end, indeed the redesign feels gentle - 'you might not realise any work has been done,' the architects say. Yet it brings strong clarity to the overall complex, removing partitions and mezzanine floors, adding space - including a small new build, glulam-roofed extension off the architecture studio - and rendering the entire school now fully accessible by removing unnecessary level changes and adding accessibility measures where needed.
As the Schools spread across the RA's two buildings, Burlington House, and Burlington Gardens, there is a strong north-south axis to their masterplan. This was counteracted by the architects' confident tackling of the east-west axis, as they not only refreshed the Cast Corridor that runs along it, but also placed key communal functions, such as the canteen and library in parallel to it too.
Meanwhile, the studios have been redesigned and subtly uncluttered, now feeling taller, brighter and airier. The Courtyard is also now open to the school staff and students, where they can not only get fresh air but also admire the bridge that connects the two main RA campus buildings.
Eliza Bonham Carter, curator and director of the Royal Academy Schools, said: 'The RA Schools provides a free, independent programme invested in artistic development at postgraduate level. A space for study and art making, committed to the questions that arise from making art now. This renovation of the RA Schools makes it fit for the years to come and provides outstanding conditions for our students. An art school in Burlington House on Piccadilly is the clearest possible signal of the RA’s commitment to the teaching and practice of art.'
'A healthy education, like a healthy diet, should include variety. This requires the opportunity to encounter a wide range of thinking processes and approaches. Education in the arts at all levels engages students in problem solving, which leads to innovation and engagement with complexity. In a healthy society this should be available to all. We look forward to welcoming visitors to the new campus during the next graduation exhibition, the RA Schools Show 2024, in June.'
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bagPaco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streetsOn the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealedCharli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
-
Tour the Natural History Museum’s new gardens, a Jurassic lark in LondonThe Natural History Museum in London has unveiled two new gardens, with resident dinosaurs, after a transformation led by architects Feilden Fowles
-
Drama Republic moves into a colourful, handcrafted workspace in LondonFor the new creative HQ of production company Drama Republic, Emil Eve Architects remodels a warehouse into office space in London’s Holborn
-
Hideaway House in London features timber panelling inspired by the New York hospitality sceneThe elegantly refurbished Hideaway House by Studio McW in London features timber panelling inspired by Philip Johnson’s The Four Seasons Restaurant
-
An Uxbridge annexe by Bureau de Change is a design for effortless intergenerational livingUxbridge Bower, a residential annexe in west London, is a contemporary addition offering both privacy and connection for the needs of a family
-
‘Modern Buildings’ tours south-east London through a guide to post-war Blackheath and Greenwich‘Modern Buildings: Blackheath and Greenwich’ is a detailed survey of a London borough’s rich trove of new modernist architecture
-
Triangle House invites you to its inner world of colourful surprisesTriangle House by Artefact is a private home in Epsom, outside London, combining Caribbean style, colour and functionality
-
Tour the refreshed Saint Andrew Holborn: an icon reveals its crisp new interior in LondonDaeWha Kang reimagines Saint Andrew Holborn church through a sensitive architectural solution that blends tradition and modernity in London
-
A Suffolk house by Studio Bark pairs a fresh visual language with low-energy designSuffolk house Water Farm is off-the-grid but defiantly on the map, a bold new object in the landscape with a strong visual impact and minimal carbon footprint
