TNG Youth & Community Centre by RCKa

TNG Youth & Community Centre in Sydenham, south-east London, was presented at the AT Awards live finals on 20 September 2023 to a jury comprising Rab Bennetts, Juliette Morgan, Neil Thomas, Peter Bishop, Nana Biamah-Ofosu, and Chair Isabel Allen. Read about how the project has stood the test of time.

Completed
2013

Located on a gang-neutral site in Sydenham, south-east London, RCKa’s TNG Youth & Community Centre is designed to encourage social cohesion, and hosts a lively programme of events and initiatives that engage the wider community through sport, art and performance.

The three-storey, BREEAM Excellent-rated building includes a climbing wall, training kitchen and café, multi-use games area, dance and performance spaces, recording studios and health clinic. The plan is organised around a dramatic central space, which resolves complex site levels, and is both welcoming and alive with activity. There are also a series of undefined spaces that can be appropriated by the young building users in whatever creative ways they see fit.

“We worked hard to create spaces that fulfil multiple purposes”, explains the architect. “The triple-height wintergarden, for example, acts as a thermal buffer, critical breakout, circulation, and viewing area for the external multi-use games pitch. It is also criss-crossed by high-level balconies that double as informal social spaces.”

In contrast to the robust, profiled polycarbonate and concrete outer shell, the internal timber structure provides a sense of safety, warmth and comfort. The unprecious nature of the building in general has encouraged everything from local arts fairs to children’s parties, celebrations and performance.

Central to the project’s success has been the architect’s ability to engage with and listen to local youngsters from the outset. “Involving young people in the design process demonstrated that they were valued and that they had an important role to play,” explains the architect. “Being part of the project taught them new skills: how to negotiate and network, and how to work in partnership with others. This is a project that literally turned lives around, and remains a touchstone for us today as a practice.”