Kingston School of Art wins BREEAM award 23.03.21

Our retrofit of Kingston School of Art for Kingston University has won the 2021 BREEAM award for the best Public Sector Project post-construction. The judges commented that they were "impressed with the take on overall wellbeing, as well as embracing the challenge of refurbishing an existing building. The efforts made on solar shading, biodiversity and accessibility were also highly rated".

One of the drivers of the project has been to demonstrate how a carefully considered retrofit can transform the environmental performance, functionality and design quality of existing university buildings, so it is encouraging to see a refurbishment project achieve this award. Universities are faced with the twin challenges of meeting their zero carbon goals while addressing new ways of working and teaching in the post-pandemic era. This retrofit shows how these challenges can be addressed while also delivering high-quality design and without the need to fully decant staff and students off site to undertake major demolition and rebuilding. Our upgrades for Kingston School of Art prioritised passive design measures, increasing north-light to studios through re-organising the internal layout, introducing solar shading to the South, upgrading the thermal performance/airtightness of the envelope and replacing inefficient building services and plant. Together this package of measures contributed to achieving BREEAM Outstanding while also delivering on-going energy cost savings and significant reductions in CO2 produced by the university.

More News

Pembroke Mill Lane, Cambridge has been shortlisted for a RIBA East Award.

Haworth Tompkins has three projects shortlisted at this year’s Pineapple Awards: The Developer and Festival of Place, which celebrate excellence in placemaking. The shortlists demonstrate the strength of our approach to placemaking and collaborative design.

Unanimous planning permission has been granted for Troubadour Greenwich Peninsula, a new 3,000-capacity performance venue designed by Haworth Tompkins.

Haworth Tompkins Associate Director Ken Okonkwo has been reappointed as a Mayor’s Design Advocate (MDA) for the 2025–2028 term, marking his second appointment to the role.

2025 was a demanding year for the built environment, but also one of real momentum for Haworth Tompkins. Against a challenging economic and political backdrop, the practice continued to adapt, collaborate and deliver work of lasting value.

The £2 billion York Central regeneration project has submitted the latest planning application for the next stage of delivery and includes Haworth Tompkins designs for Foundry Village; a walkable, street-based neighbourhood designed that will deliver 368 mixed-tenure homes.

Theatr Clwyd has been shortlisted for Theatre Building of the Year at this year’s Stage Awards.

Pembroke Mill Lane, Cambridge and The Warburg Renaissance have been selected as Regional Finalists in the 2026 Civic Trust Awards and will now be considered for National Awards with the winners announced January 2026.