NLA Ashden Prize Awarded To Wimbledon College of Arts’ New Studio

The prestigious New London Awards (NLA) special Ashden Prize was awarded to the New Studio at Wimbledon College of Arts for its use of Passivhaus design techniques which decreases energy use to a bare minimum.

Recognising the very best in architecture, planning and development in the capital, the New London Awards this year include a special Ashden Prize focusing on energy efficiency in buildings.

Completed in 2014 as an addition to the Wimbledon campus, the studio was designed as a simple enclosure with excellent lighting and ventilation. The project has a BREEAM Outstanding rating, the highest sustainability assessment rating for the building sector.

Sustainable design measures include north-south orientation, a high performance envelope, controlled natural ventilation and rain water harvesting. Also incorporated is a solar PV installation which generates more energy over a year than the building uses, contributing to an overall negative CO2 emissions rate.

Embodied energy has also been kept low with engineered timber being used extensively in the structure.

Sarah Butler-Sloss, Ashden’s Founder Director and a member of the judging panel, said:

Wimbledon College of Art’s New Studio not only excels in energy efficiency but is a comfortable and beautiful space in which to work.

“It’s an outstanding exemplar of sustainable design and, as a charity championing sustainable energy, Ashden wholeheartedly commends the building’s carbon negative emissions rate.”

The NLA Award winners were announced on 7 July at the NLA Annual Lunch at London’s Guildhall.