RCKa has submitted a planning application for a new 2,200sqm adult education college in south London, on behalf of Sutton Council.
The new building will be located at the northern end of the high street, creating a new civic gateway to the pedestrianised shopping area and forming a key component of the wider regeneration Sutton High Street regeneration programme. The new-build, four storey college will provide a prominent home for Sutton College and will include 10 teaching spaces plus ancillary facilities and staff offices arranged across four floors.
Sutton College provides teaching and training for adults, helping learners move into employment and apprenticeships, and is currently based within the Civic Centre. The project will increase the college’s prominence, help it attract new learners and expand its reach into the local community.
The project forms part of an ambitious programme to revitalise Sutton Town Centre and has been supported by the Government’s Future High Streets Fund. RCKa was appointed by the London Borough of Sutton in 2023 to advise on the initial viability and design exploration stage and this work has concluded with an application for this major new addition to Sutton’s built heritage.
RCKa identified that a new, high-quality, purpose-built scheme would best serve the needs of Sutton College and help to enhance the character and function of the gateway area, replacing an existing three storey building that has been vacant for seven years.
Before detailed design work began, RCKa held a range of public engagement events which resulted in a shared vision for the activation of Sutton High Street. The new building has been carefully designed to create a strong new identity while celebrating the site’s heritage and character of the conservation area in which it is located. The scheme is targeting a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) of “Outstanding”.
A simple, unified volume accentuates the presence of the building on the corner of the high street and articulation of the north and west elevations responds to the local vernacular and high street frontage.
Within these elevations, grouped arched lintels are applied across two central registers, responding to the original arrangement of the fenestration in the existing building. A circular feature window creates a distinct identity for the college, and acts as a focal point that responds to townscape views, allowing dramatic views northwards from the upper floors. A central atrium provides passive ventilation to the offices and teaching areas, and a visual connection between each of the floors.
An enclosed courtyard to the rear provides spill-out space for events and teaching, and the main building is flanked by a lightweight garden pavilion containing a cycle store and a secondary entrance providing access to the new Elm Grove housing scheme/development immediately to the south. The roof of this pavilion features a horticultural terrace and outdoor learning space.
Chris Barnes, Associate at RCKa, said:
“The project is an ongoing collaborative process, exploring how a building can push flexibility, adaptability and efficiency whilst retaining a strong identity and a civic presence. The building exists to support learning; it’s not precious or over curated – rather it’s designed to be efficient to construct, simple to operate and easy to adapt: a “kit of parts” that are expressed to give the building a strong identity. From the internal colourful steel structure to the modular joinery in each of the classrooms – each element is playfully crafted and then replicated across the building.”
Sutton Council has committed to delivering the project using a traditional procurement contract, thereby ensuring that the design quality is followed through into construction.
