Summary

Highgate Newtown Community Centre (HNCC) is the collaborative re-imagining of a cherished local asset — one that connects neighbourhoods and a diverse range of uses and users to create a vibrant, cohesive new heart for the community. The project grew out of a comprehensive engagement process with 167 stakeholder groups, which RCKa managed alongside Camden's Community Investment Programme team, supporting residents and stakeholders to arrive at a shared consensus.

At the heart of the project sits a vibrant public courtyard — a brand new piece of Camden — that is key to its success. It forms an active punctuation point on a safe, direct new route, giving the community centre a welcoming civic presence and reconnecting neighbourhoods that had previously been divided. The buildings are all accessed from the courtyard and house a wide range of valued community services, including Fresh Youth Academy and 41 new affordable homes.

HNCC is an excellent example of how RCKa looks "beyond the red line" as architects, testing how buildings can maximise their impact on people and place. This is a project that is greater than the sum of its parts, and a testament to the power of community collaboration.

The Process

Appointed by Camden Council in 2014, our task was to explore innovative ways of securing the long-term future of Highgate Newtown Community Centre through redevelopment of the site. Chosen for our expertise in public engagement and a proven track record of securing planning consent for complex urban projects, we recognised the difficulties of a site described as "one of the most challenging in the borough" — a result of its rich historic and political context. To tackle this, we questioned the constraints of the brief and examined the broader physical and social setting.

As a practice, we aim to create places that resonate with the people who use them. Through a tailored engagement process, we listened to diverse local perspectives, especially those of hard-to-reach groups whose voices would otherwise go unheard. We worked with over 150 stakeholder groups to navigate myriad overlapping interests and produce a strategic brief that worked for the site, its communities and the client.

The Result

With only limited capital funding available, we introduced housing to the site to provide 41 much-needed new homes — including homes for key workers — cross-funding the community facilities. The resulting mixed-use development, weaving together public life and private domesticity, establishes a positive dialogue with its surroundings while enhancing the character of the conservation area.

The new homes sit in two blocks that embrace the square, delivering a coherent piece of architecture with a bold identity that mends the hole in the immediate context. It continues the rich local tradition of high-quality contemporary brick buildings, celebrating key features of the local vernacular by referencing architectural and landscape detail.