City of Westminster College

London/ UK

Size/ 24,000 m²
Cost/ € 81 million excl. VAT
Competition/ 2006, 1st prize in restricted international competition
Status/ Construction period 2008 – 2010
Client/ City of Westminster College
Engineer/ Buro Happold, United Kingdom
Main Contractor/ McLaren Construction Ltd
Other Consultants/ Knight Frank LLP/ Stace LLP
Awards/ 2011, World Architecture Festival, shortlisted in the Learning category/ 2011, shortlisted for The Concrete Society Awards/ 2011, RIBA Award/ 2011, New London Award, Learning category
Photo/ Adam Mørk

Share on Facebook

Share on LinkedIn

The new flagship campus for City of Westminster College is designed to support new ways of teaching and learning. The 24,000m² college provides much greater amounts of open learning spaces than typical colleges in the UK. The building is designed to embrace interaction and diversity and allows students to learn from each other, both formally and informally. The scheme is extremely sustainable and energy efficient which results in a low maintenance liability, significantly reducing the building’s lifespan costs and carbon footprint.

The College is located in the heart of Central London at Paddington Green on the site of its previous building, an inefficient and failing 1960s block. The building has been designed from the inside-out, responding to the needs of the diverse groups who use the College, as well as taking into account the sensitive local context. It appears as a clean-cut, modern building with a distinct nordic heritage.

The learning spaces are adaptable and flexible so that, in addition to the integrated technology, the students’ development is supported by the diverse architectural spaces of the very building they are in. It is a design which encourages new ways of teaching and learning.

To support connectivity with the local community, most public functions – including an exhibition area, a theatre and a café – are located adjacent to the main entrance before the security turnstiles. The choice of colours for the building is inspired by its context and by the change of the seasons, whilst the light timber panels lining the interior form a contrast to the exposed concrete surfaces and underline the Scandinavian design heritage.