Harrow Arts Centre
 A new dance school, events space, and artists? studios have been carved out of dilapidated and disused historic outbuildings. This work is the first phase of a 6- year masterplan, developed by the practice to support this well-loved and popular cultural campus to grow and become sustainable and self-sufficient.
Photography by © Neil Perry
The practice was commissioned in 2018 to rethink the sustainability of the campus, which includes the listed Elliot Hall framed by a series of smaller ancillary buildings, all of which are in high demand for a wide variety of activities. With the support of Robert Bevan of Authentic Futures, the design team carried out an extensive study of the history and significance of the site, its buildings, and its setting. Originally The Royal Commercial Travelers School, the campus is home to a collection of beautiful and significant buildings, highlighted by the masterplan as an untapped resource of both much-needed space and cultural value. By working collaboratively with both the local authority and the Arts Centre, a masterplan was developed that would retain and upgrade existing buildings, therefore creating the minimum disruption to the community and saving significant costs, as well as embodied carbon and local heritage. In time, four new buildings will be added across the site as part of the latter phases, replacing poor-quality temporary accommodation. A good, well-connected public realm is central to the proposals, c...