Allies and Morrison unveils a future-proof home for London College of Fashion

Photography: Simon Menges

Prioritising robust, flexible architecture and cohesive design, Southwark-based studio Allies and Morrison have successfully united all of the London College of Fashion’s departments under one roof for the very first time. The vast university site at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park occupies seventeen floors, and accommodates as many as 5,000 students earning degrees in everything from journalism and marketing to jewellery and fashion illustration. Centred around a vertical core of fixed elements (including vertical circulation, lifts and toilets), the pared back, process-driven interiors are designed to be both highly functional and continuously adaptable, ready to change and grow alongside one of the UK’s most important arts universities.

By layering a range of different configurations, Allies and Morrison created a singular, interconnected atrium that links the generous lower-level entrance hall and public spaces (namely, the auditorium, gallery, cafe and library) to the workshop and teaching floors at mid-level, and finally the refectory, drawings studios and roof terraces spread across the upper floors. Once dispersed across six different sites, these educational and social space are now connected in this atrium by a sweeping, sculptural staircase, punctuated with openings that allow ventilation and natural light to flood in – something also aided by tall, repeated windows evocative of a factory warehouse. An uncomplicated, muted palette of three materials – concrete, timber and black metal – continues throughout, purposefully allowing the creative, colourful output of the college students to take centre stage.

Despite providing a choice of non-specialised, flexible zones in response to the shifting nature of teaching and learning, specialist spaces with fixed machinery and appliances were also crucial to deliver the college’s practical courses. To determine this balance during the design stage, Allies and Morrison visited the six sites across London that were still hosting the college: Curtain Road, Golden Lane, Mare Street, John Prince’s Street, Lime Grove and High Holborn. Here, the architecture team took inspiration from these workshop spaces, both in terms of their atmosphere and functionality, and allowed this to inform the final concept for the new and improved London College of Fashion complex.