UCL Academy

Superstudio

Client Advisers for new UCL sponsored academy in Camden, London

“One day all schools will be like this”

Michael Worton, Vice-Provost, UCL

Over the last five years SCABAL has worked closely with UCL to develop a completely new pedagogical model, which is now and up-and-running and housed in its own highly bespoke building, six storeys high on Adelaide Road in Swiss Cottage. The new head and all her staff are very committed to the approach we developed as Client Advisers with the UCL and Camden teams.

Through discussions and workshops with academics and students, visits to exemplars and an evolving diagram know as a spin painting, we helped identify, understand and crystallise their vision and innovate their educational approach. From this work SCABAL created a didactic design brief including adjacency and spatial requirements which firmly embedded and manifested the philosophies of a vertical pastoral system of Households and a pedagogy of individual learning pathways based in cross-subject Superstudios rather than subject hegemonies. Specialist areas, in particular those for science and engineering have been enhanced to be very highly equipped and organised to reflect a creative environment reminiscent of a university.

During design dialogue and through construction SCABAL continued to work with the UCL to reinforce this vision through the internal layout and fit out, proposing and developing layouts and arrangements of furniture settings for Superstudios, specialist suites and House dining areas.

The resultant building, designed by Penoyre and Prasad and occupied in January 2013, is profoundly different from the majority of schools and exemplary in its social, domestic and professional arrangement, its spatial generosity, material quality and overall calmness.

Service: Client Advisers

Location: Camden, UK

Client: LB Camden, UCL

Cost: £32.1m

Dates: 2009-2014

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