Case Study

Kingsgate Primary School Liddell Road extension, Camden

In 2014 Camden decided to expand Kingsgate Primary School in West Hampstead to provide 420 new primary school places - going from two-form to four-form entry. The site chosen for a new school building, a former railway sidings in Liddell Road, was large enough to allow a mixed-use development of private housing (the sale of which is funding the new school space), plus new workspace, new affordable housing and public realm.

Maccreanor Lavington has developed the masterplan to meet Camden's vision of a family-friendly neighbourhood by structuring the development around a new public square, with a pedestrian public route running through the site connecting the buildings and the square to the existing park next door, as well as the surrounding neighbourhoods. The new building will be used for infants and nursery-age children, while the existing Victorian school - a 20-minute walk away - will be remodelled for junior pupils.

In this way the Liddell Road site can become a bespoke educational setting for younger children. Maccreanor Lavington invested a much time understanding how the scale of the learning and teaching environment could be modulated to suit different age groups.

Nursery children have a more studio-based setting with nooks and alcoves; reception has a similar model with shared facilities between the two classes. Year 1 and 2 children have individual quiet rooms as their classrooms and share open-plan resource spaces, with year 2 given additional special subject rooms.

This school steps forward to frame the public space at the heart of the new development, with a civic facade of cross-laminated timber and handsome grey brickwork. Behind the public-facing building will be the main school hall and offices. Classrooms are in a second building running alongside the railway. Both buildings are linked with a generous roof deck, and learning and play areas are connected via a bridge, with views on to the railway and surrounding mature trees.

Client: Camden Council
Architect: Maccreanor Lavington
Completion Scheduled: Oct/Nov 2016