Royal Ballet School, White Lodge, Richmond Park

Client Relationship
The Royal Ballet School are a long-term client of 4D Studio Architects. Over more than ten years, we have collaborated with them on their portfolio of buildings across Covent Garden, Pimlico, and Richmond Park. This enduring relationship has allowed us to deeply understand the School’s ethos, operational requirements, and the sensitivities of working in heritage and protected landscapes.

White Lodge, Richmond Park
New student accommodation was discreetly located in converted and extended roof spaces above existing modern boarding blocks. This strategy allowed for an additional 32 student beds with only a 7% increase in GIA, ensuring minimal disruption to the landscape setting and existing architectural character.

Heritage Sensitivity
The design carefully considered massing, height, and materiality to ensure the extensions are barely perceptible from key vantage points across Richmond Park and White Lodge itself. This sensitivity was central to gaining planning consent in such a tightly controlled setting.

Sustainability Strategy
The chosen energy strategy includes Lean passive and active design measures and Green Low and Zero Carbon (LZC) technologies to achieve a 35% improvement over Baseline CO2 emissions. In fact, the regulated carbon dioxide savings amount to 9.1 tonnes or 41.03% The scheme integrates passive design measures and high-performance systems including Air Source Heat Pumps and MVHR, reducing regulated CO₂ emissions by 41% compared to baseline standards.