Westminster lecturer collaborates on prize-winning Grenfell Nursery

Asked by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to find a suitable permanent location for the nursery, the Lancaster West Children’s Community Network (LWCCN) first explored several sites nearby. Architect and urbanist Afolabi Spence, who is also Visiting Lecturer on the Architecture Postgraduate Diploma Professional Practice (RIBA Part III) and Master of Architecture (MArch) (RIBA Part II) courses at Westminster, was appointed to work with the nursery. He led the extensive outreach, engagement and consultation with residents, key stakeholders and the local community to deliver a new nursery for the Lancaster West Estate and surrounding neighbourhood.

In response to engagement and consultation with nursery staff, parents, residents and community groups, it was decided to transform the nursery’s temporary home – the Ilys Booker Centre – so that it could remain at the heart of the Lancaster West Estate.

The new environmentally friendly nursery is a part-refurbished, part-newbuild scheme that includes two single-storey extensions. It is situated in a complex plot between two of Lancaster West’s existing housing blocks. The nursery, which offers specialist care services for children aged between 12 months and four years old, can accommodate 32 children across a range of nature-themed outdoor and indoor teaching spaces. 

The architects say that allowing children to connect with nature through open spaces was a priority for the project. A woodland themed walkway entrance leads into a main courtyard, which doubles as an outdoor classroom and play area. An additional external classroom and an external space on the new second storey provides spaces for children to wander between trees, explore a wildflower meadow and learn about insects, animals and other wildlife. 

Grenfell Nursery is one of the first of many projects to be delivered from the initial resident engagement in 2018 to refurbish the Lancaster West estate following the tragedy. Afolabi Spence was honoured to lead the resident engagement and collaborate on the brief development with a design team that included Levitt Bernstein and Penoyre & Prasad (now Perkins & Will). The resulting Book of Ideas set out a holistic vision to create a model 21st century estate by listening to residents, refurbishing every home and creating opportunities for the whole community. One of the ten core principals is to deliver the refurbishment of the estate sensitively and collaboratively.

Afolabi Spence said: “We cannot forget the tragic events that took place at Grenfell Tower. We all hope that the new nursery will be a worthy tribute and help the process of healing for the community and future generations.”

Learn more about the Architecture Postgraduate Diploma Professional Practice (RIBA Part III) and Master of Architecture (MArch) (RIBA Part II) courses at the University of Westminster.