The Royal College of Art (RCA) has signed the main contract with Kier Group contractors for the new state-of-the-art £56m academic studio and research building located in Battersea. Equals have provided leadership and project management to help the team move from RIBA Stage 0-4 and will now manage the project to completion and provide contract administration services. The works are due for completion in 2020.

Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the 15,500m2 centre will feature workshops and manufacturing facilities across a four-storey studio building and eight-storey research building. The RCA is well on the way to deliver a complex brief within an adaptable building. The expansion of the RCA’s Battersea campus is an important step in its evolution into a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics)-focused postgraduate university.