Showcasing innovative sustainable construction and high-quality design,The New Generation (TNG) Youth and Community Centre is a £3.5m newbuildvenue designed by RCKa. It provides a range of vocational, leisureand support services for the young people of Lewisham, South London.
The state-of-the-art building includes a climbing wall, training kitchen andcafé, multi-use games area, recording studios, health clinic, dance andperformance spaces, teaching and conference rooms and an IT suite.A dramatic central space resolves complex site levels and forms a vibrantheart to a building that engages and welcomes visitors, and is alive withactivity and opportunity.
Constructed of cross-laminated wood, the building’s timber-panelledcarcass is punctured through walls and ceiling with large dramaticopenings to maximise natural daylight and frame long views through andout of the building,Externally, the building is clad in a lightweight, translucent polycarbonaterainscreen with a gently undulating profile. At street level where thebuilding required a more robust finish, ultra-high performance pre-castconcrete panels cast from moulds of the profiled polycarbonate above, arehung from the building.
RCKa worked closely with Lewisham Council, its partners and the localcommunity to realise the project. They identified the potential of the site fora significant facility and were instrumental in securing project funding. Thepractice's aim was to create a positive place in which young people findinspiration, where they feel safe and secure, and in which they want tospend time.
Its success and popularity with young people in particular has far exceededexpectation. This is testament to the ambition of the London Borough ofLewisham and the approach of the design team, which placed users andthe local community at the heart of the design, briefing and governanceprocess.
