Work has commenced on a renovation of the Royal College of Art's iconic modernist campus in west London, overseen by British studios Witherford Watson Mann and Clementine Blakemore Architects.

Now underway, the revamp will reinvigorate the Grade II-listed Darwin Building – the heart of the London university's Kensington campus, built in 1962.

Few details have been released, but the project will focus on striking a "careful balance of conservation and transformation", according to the Royal College of Art (RCA).

Stirling Prize-winner Witherford Watson Mann and Stirling Prize-nominee Clementine Blakemore Architects will honour the original design by Cadbury Brown while improving its environmental performance, accessibility and teaching facilities.

Renovation will enable "wider range of conversations to be hosted"

"Physically, the works are largely about stripping back to the structure," said Witherford Watson Mann.

"Later finishes on the concrete frame and brick walls will be removed, and the steel skeleton of the 1980s linear gallery exposed, revealing the values embodied in the building, economy of means, rawness and openness."

"Of course, the physical is always the outward face of the social. These works are also about reinforcing the collective culture, establishing space for collaborative working, celebrating the work produced at the college, enabling a wider range of conversations to be hosted," the studio continued.

The Royal College of Art (RCA) was founded in 1837 and is one of the world's leading art and design universities, with alumni including artist Tracey Emin and designer James Dyson. It also has campuses in Battersea and White City.

Witherford Watson Mann and Clementine Blakemore Architects have developed their plans with input from the RCA community, Westminster City Council and Historic England.

Studios adopting "a lean and low-carbon approach"

Works commenced in 2025 and are scheduled to be completed in 2032. The renovation will be carried out in stages, allowing teaching to continue throughout.

Reflecting on the project, Clementine Blakemore Architects said the studios are drawing on the original architect Brown's ambition for the building to serve as a backdrop to art.

"Drawing both on my own experience studying there over a decade ago, and insights from the current community, our proposals focus on flexible spaces which enable the testing and sharing of creative ideas," said Clementine Blakemore Architects.

"Noting Cadbury Brown's original concept for the building to 'act as the background to art and not to assert itself as an art thing', we have taken a lean and low-carbon approach to the fit-out, exposing original finishes and complementing these with natural and raw materials that can successfully wear over time," added the studio.

Other RCA news recently featured on Dezeen include the One Tool One Stool exhibition, in which design students created stools with single tools.

Recent graduate Oliver Stiff shared a collectable "fashion furniture" collection made using deadstock from Vivienne Westwood.

The visual is by Witherford Watson Mann.