London’s Royal College of Art (RCA) has announced that Swiss architect Herzog & de Meuron has won a competition to design its $136m (£108m) Battersea South campus.   Â
The campus is intended to help the RCA transform itself into a science-based graduate university. This will involve expanding its "research and knowledge exchange centres into the domains of computer and materials science, the impact of the digital economy, advanced manufacturing and intelligent mobility".
The college will bring together the "worlds of science, art, design and technology", and focus on areas such as "connected cities, robotics, the internet of things, intelligent mobility, sustainability, mass migration and city design".
Professor Naren Barfield, the rector of the RCA, said: "We wanted to find an architect that truly understood the nature of the RCA’s vision and design practices, and could conceptualise a building that is both innovative and flexible, able to adapt to the emerging disciplines and collaborations that will define the future."
The six runners-up were:Â Â Â Â
- Christian Kerez (Switzerland)Â
- Diller Scofidio + Renfro (US)Â Â
- Lacaton & Vassal (France)Â
- Robbrecht en Daem architecten (Belgium)
- Serie Architects (UK/Singapore)Â Â
- Studio Gang (US)
The RCA will now work to develop the initial concept design with Herzog & de Meuron and Mott MacDonald & Equals Consulting, which is leading the multidisciplinary professional team.
Images via Herzog & de Meuron
