Building for the future
When the London College of Communication (LCC) approached Alumno to plan a new building to house its students, the opportunity came with a clear brief to help post-graduates. As well as living spaces, the LCC wanted the development to provide facilities and creative space for students to be able to develop careers and ideas once they had graduated.

Alumno’s experience in developing mixed-use student accommodation meant the company was ready to rise to the challenge laid down by the LCC.

“Together with our partners we devised and designed a new creative space by opening out the current area away from the railway arches, that also created a new walkway, between Hampton Street and Steedman Street,” explains Alumno managing director David Campbel. “This in turn opened up the arches for multiple uses.”

Always looking for new and innovative ways to canvass the opinions of those involved in its developments, Alumno consulted with not just the college and its students, but also with the local community and local authority.

“We also involved third-year LCC Interior Design students who explored several themes, most notably: what does a 21st Century LCC student want from their living space?” says Campbell.

This was included as a module of the degree course and required the development of ideas into a working brief that focused on the living space, the link between the new site and the LCC, as well as the new walkway.

“One of the most exciting aspects of the Hampton Street project was the creation of an Incubation Centre for graduate enterprise, providing flexible work space, that is affordable for startup businesses and freelancers, that provides the kind of resources and support they might usually struggle to afford,” says Campbell.

On completion, Hampton Street was sold on to L&G.