Stone colonnades frame the open-plan interiors of Town House, the mixed-use teaching building by Grafton Architects for Kingston University in London.
RIBA Gold Medal-winning studio Grafton Architects designed the six-storey Town House to act as "the university's front door and a gateway to Kingston upon Thames" ? the town in which it is located.
It takes the form of a series of interlocking, open-plan volumes enveloped by a facade of colonnades that offer passersby glimpses inside, in a bid to create a stronger connection between students and locals.

"Imagine a place where reading, dance, performance, lectures, exhibitions, research and learning, happily co-exist, under one roof, and the door is open to everyone. This is the new Town House in Kingston," said the Dublin-based studio. "The architecture reflects this openness," it continued.
"Colonnades form welcoming meeting spaces at edges. Interlocking volumes move vertically connecting the building from ground to top. Activities are revealed to the passersby. There are no barriers."

Grafton Architects was selected to design Town House in 2013, when Kingston University and the Royal Institute of British Architects held a competition to replace an existing office building on campus. It was built in collaboration with the contractor Willmott Dixon.
Now open to the public, it contains the university's main library and archive, alongside dance studios, a theatre, adaptable learning spa...