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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Arts building for The American school in London, England by Walters & Cohen ArchitectsDecember 20th, 2016 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Walters & Cohen Architects In 2011, the practice won an invited competition to design a new arts building for the well-established independent school in St John’s Wood. Taking its cue from the mass and footprint of the listed, semi-detached villas on the site adjacent, the four-storey building is designed to resemble a single large property. The complexity of the project is heightened by its location on a prominent corner plot in the St John’s Wood conservation area, where proposed developments attract a lot of attention.  Image Courtesy © Dennis Gilbert
 Image Courtesy © Dennis Gilbert Walters & Cohen liaised with the school’s distinguished board of governors, ward councillors and local politicians, and presented the concept design in a three-day public exhibition. The scheme was extremely well received. A range of materials for the external facades were researched and presented to the planners and governors, including recycled glass, stucco flutes and marble; stone was considered the most appropriate material on account of its elegance and traditional qualities.  Image Courtesy © Marcus Peel  Image Courtesy © Dennis Gilbert The resulting façade is a unique piece of design that draws on the timeless quality of stone, expressed in a truly contemporary manner. Light plays on the façade, flattening and disguising the flute pattern one minute, only to boldly express it in the next. The building has both an elegant lightness and a weight and gravitas, unique and contemporary yet effortlessly taking its place as an equal among its more mature neighbours.  Image Courtesy © Dennis Gilbert  Image Courtesy © Dennis Gilbert The new building’s sculptural quality is fitting to the work that goes on inside. The ground floor provides exhibition space, with art, sculpture, ceramics and photography studios on the other three floors. An elegant concrete frame provides long span, column-free studio space at all levels, bringing in daylight from the north and south and providing a flexible, spacious and comfortable environment in which pupils can develop their creativity.  Image Courtesy © Dennis Gilbert  Image Courtesy © Dennis Gilbert “We were delighted to win the competition to design a new art school at ASL five years go. The new art building replaces the form and volume of a large semi-detached St John’s Wood villa on the site that was demolished to make way for the railway tunnel into Marylebone Station. The site is also adjacent to a listed building and within a conservation area. The project was a brave undertaking and throughout the project ASL demonstrated all the qualities of an exemplary client; vision, ambition and dedication to the community they serve. ASL placed their trust in us as designers and we hope this trust has been rewarded by the ambitious new art building on the St John’s Wood campus.” Cindy Walters, Director, Walters & Cohen Architects  Image Courtesy © Walters & Cohen Architects  Image Courtesy © Walters & Cohen Architects  Image Courtesy © Walters & Cohen Architects  Image Courtesy © Walters & Cohen Architects  Image Courtesy © Walters & Cohen Architects  Image Courtesy © Walters & Cohen Architects  Image Courtesy © Walters & Cohen Architects  Image Courtesy © Walters & Cohen Architects  Image Courtesy © Walters & Cohen Architects  Image Courtesy © Walters & Cohen Architects
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Categories: Art Center, School |
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