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.
In the second of three NLA articles, Tom Gibson, Associate Director at Haworth Tompkins, reflects on the practice’s international mass timber projects and the lessons they offer for timber construction in the UK.
Last week, Haworth Tompkins received the Dewi-Prys Thomas Award for our work on Theatr Clwyd in Mold, North Wales. The award celebrates the role of design in improving quality of life and supporting regeneration across Wales.
The redevelopment of Pembroke Mill Lane, Cambridge, for Pembroke College has been recognised with four RIBA awards, including a 2026 RIBA East Award, Building of the Year, Project Architect and the Conservation Award.
Planning approval has been granted for two new residential developments at Regents Court and Orwell Court & Welshpool Street, marking a significant milestone in the ongoing Hackney New Homes Programme.
Following the announcement of £10m investment from the Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to undertake critical infrastructure repairs to the Grade I listed Royal Festival Hall, we are delighted to announce our appointment to work with the Southbank Centre on the next phases of this landmark project.
Tendring Cochester Borders Garden Community wins Pineapple Award for Future Place over 20ha!
Haworth Tompkins is thrilled to be working with Ashford Borough Council on the transformation of the former Odeon cinema building into a vibrant new cultural and community venue in the heart of Ashford.
Pembroke Mill Lane in Cambridge has won one of 21 National Civic Trust Awards from more than 300 entries.
| 25.03.26 | Mass Timber Design Innovations: from fire strategy to carbon reduction, the challenges and opportunities of designing with timber. → |
| 30.10.25 | Construction Reaches Topping Off Milestone for the New Home of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University → |
| 28.07.25 | Haworth Tompkins reveals plans for the redevelopment of Grade I listed De La Warr Pavilion → |
| 13.05.25 | Haworth Tompkins to lead design of affordable housing in £2.5 Billion York Central Regeneration → |