Introduction

Thorpe Lodge is a Grade II listed regency villa which, since 1952, has formed part of Holland Park School. In recent years the Lodge had been used for storage and art classes but was in desperate need of a new lease of life.

Atomik’s sensitive refurbishment has uncovered the original character of the building, reworking it as an asset to the school. The jumbled sequence of internal spaces has been knitted back together and a contemporary art studio extension has been designed to support the wider curriculum and connect the building to the main school and landscape.

Every resident of Thorpe Lodge has added a layer of their own history to the building. Today it is for Holland Park School to add its own chapter. In doing so it has brought Thorpe Lodge back into use to be enjoyed by pupils, staff and the public.

The Brief

As the brief developed, three key requirements evolved. First of all the school needed a reconfigured entrance to provide a more inviting sense of arrival; secondly bringing Thorpe Lodge back to its former glory and; thirdly to extend the building to create a new art studio
The project transforms the problematic empty building into an asset central to the school.

The new entrance reconnects the school to the street and creates a more welcoming sense of arrival. The refurbishment works make the building perfect for community uses and the art studio extension knits this fabulous building back into the heart of the school’s curriculum.

The school’s leadership team set a demanding open brief that required both innovation and commitment from the whole project team. From the design of the new Baubuche roof structure, the technical development and prototyping of the dynamic painting screens, to the coordination and integration of modern building services within the context of the listed building. What would initially seem like a simple building, is actually the result of rigorous and methodical coordination of every moment, service and junction.

Design Challenges

The form of the extension was derived from the art department’s need for painting surfaces which would cater to multiple classes and allow students to work at a range of scales.

Two rows of white-painted wall panels line the glazed sides of the space allows the user to interchange them during class and open/close up the room to the terrace. When the panels are all closed this potentially creates a single canvas of up to 8 x 5m