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New Town House

A new landmark building for Kingston University, London

Project Date
2013- on-going
Location
London, UK
Role
Architectural Designer
Organization
Grafton Architects
Client
Kingston University & RIBA
Budget
£50 million
Team Members
Ger Carty, Simona Castelli, James Rossa O'Hare, Eibhlin NĂ­ Chathasaigh, Joanne Lyons, Edwin Jebb, Leah Hogan, Shane Twohig

Invited competition to design a new landmark building for Kingston University in London. Grafton Architects was selected ahead of renowned firms including O'Donnell + Tuomey, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Haworth Tompkins. Winner of the 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize.

The new building replaces an outdated, temporary building, offering a vibrant new face for the University and a welcoming gateway to Kingston upon Thames. Facilities include a learning resources centre, a covered courtyard, two cafes and a new landscaping scheme across the front of the campus.

Primary responsibilities:

  • Working closely with Principal Architects and project team on conceptual design development.
  • Leading the production / preparation of building floor plans and internal layouts.
  • Collaborating with team-members for successful production of graphic sectional drawings, diagrams and 3D images.
  • Designing and cooordinating final board layouts.

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Site Plan

A permeable ground floor is an extension of the urban landscape

Inviting and open covered entry colonnade promotes street life and activity.

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The building was designed heavily in section, enabling high levels of interconnection between floors, where spatial variety and internal vista are key design concepts.

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Organization

Three dimensional functional integration

The variant fuctions and programmatic needs of the building are entirely interconnected. A lofty and layered atrium extends vertically through the building, promoting spontaneous interaction between users. This is a fundamental principal of the spatial design, one that is driven by an educational philosophy, and the type of environment that supports it.

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The ground floor auditorium is visually connected to the life around it.

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Environmental Analysis

Thermal, Solar and Energy Analysis Studies

We collaborated with an enviromental engineer to design an energy efficient strategy which considered heating, cooling, and rainwater harvesting. By greening the landscaping and providing shading with trees, we mitigated heat accumulation from the thermal mass of the hard exterior surfaces.


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Thermal diagrams showing heat dissipation from facade, data which was utilized for the design of the southern brise soleil

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