Charterhouse School

Competition-winning proposal for the development and extension of the existing Art & Design Technology building at Charterhouse School. The project is part of a campus masterplan which has been designed to support the school’s growth and transition to co-education. Our scheme will help to realise the school’s ambition to create a high quality, innovative, cross-departmental and future-focused campus.

Reimagining a key teaching building, nestled amongst a number of important heritage assets, required the design team to have a deep understanding of the school’s operations, the site, and its wider context.

The building design responds to this setting with a nod to the unique roofscape of the listed heritage assets. These are characterised by clay tiles with distinct horizontal banding in red and blue. The proposed façade system is a screen of vertical clay baguette tiles with subtle tonal and colour variation. The tiles envelope the building to create a rich, layered, and textured skin through which curated views of the campus are either veiled or revealed.

The building will offer spaces which support different types of learning – from large-scale workshops, to class presentations and exhibitions, teacher-led skills sessions, and self-directed study. The design enables flexibility and adaptability, providing open plan spaces with large span structural systems. Circulation spaces double up as gallery space, offering plenty of opportunities to showcase the students’ work.

The central outdoor courtyard is designed around both the individual and the collective. There are spaces for solitary moments of reflection, social interaction between lessons, outdoor lessons, and seasonal events such as arts fairs and exhibitions.