In 2009 Walters & Cohen was approached by Bam Construction to design a scheme for Regent High School (formerly South Camden Community School), a secondary school on a confined urban site in Somers Town, London. This neighbourhood has often been overlooked while nearby areas around King’s Cross and St Pancras stations have received significant investment and development. 70% of students are eligible for free school meals and more than 75% have English as an additional language.
The design supports a variety of teaching and learning methods to suit the 1,300 students and the school’s education vision, with a flexible layout that encourages interactive, personal and collaborative working. At the heart of the school is the Arcade, a generous and bright triple-height circulation space that links the new elements of the campus with the original Victorian school building. Colourful fins add a cheerful façade to the courtyard garden and are based on a music-to-colour synaesthesia of Für Elise by Beethoven.
The project won a Civic Trust Award in 2017, a Camden Design Award in 2015, and a RIBA London Award, a RIBA National Award and the RIBA London Sustainability Award in 2016. The jury called it 'an impressively ambitious scheme that is both thoughtful and bold ... set to change the lives of the children attending the school.'
The building can also be seen in Stephen Sklair's film which documents a day in the life of a RHS student.
