Primary art studios

London studio Pricegore has converted a former Victorian school in Nottingham into a collection of artist studios and galleries.

Photos
Matthew Blunderfield & Tom Morley

Marking the first phase of a long-term campus strategy that breathes fresh purpose into an empty Grade II-listed Victorian school, Primary, a Nottingham-based arts organisation has moved in after the building was reworked by Pricegore.

The strategic brief for this phase emerged in 2019 when Pricegore directors Dingle Price and Alex Gore worked with Kingston School of Art students to survey and map the Primary site’s potential. Culminating in a public exhibition, this academic collaboration sparked ideas that have since come to fruition.

Site plan.

Axonometric drawings show how new spaces have been inserted and made possible.

Designed to foster greater connection with the community, the new works extend a sense of welcome, engaging the broader city and its residents with renewed openness.

Primary is an artist-led charity and offers creative workspace to more than 50 artists, supporting a programme of public exhibitions and events. Its new home hosts studios, workshops, and independent galleries, as well as an award-winning bakery. Pricegore’s vision focused on drawing visitors in with a newly public entrance, reshaping the building’s accessibility and visibility in the cityscape.

With the help of Primary’s in-house creatives, Beam, prominent new signage marks the entrance, while a sequence of four new openings in the enclosing masonry walls offers direct access from the street. Inside, a mix of gathering spaces have been added, including a performance and production area with plantings intended for onsite dye creation. This reimagined surrounding landscape – the former school’s old playground — has been repurposed as a welcoming hub. Outdoor amenities include a new workshop adjacent to the playful blue timber façade of a 1960s annex, along with flexible seating steps that double as performance seating. A windsock, designed by resident art collective, Reactor, further animates the space.

Beyond the yellow gates that link the site to the street, a new entrance to the building has been added to the site in the form of an oversized glazed door, sheltered beneath a galvanized steel canopy. Signage produced by resident publisher Beam, in keeping with the yellow of the external gates, guides visitors around the building’s L-shaped plan.

Once inside, visitors are led through a refreshed lobby and reception into two airy, light-filled former school halls now adapted for flexible arts programming, from exhibitions and workshops to live performances.

A new studio-kitchen has also been added, with high ceilings and generous sash windows sitting adjacent to the ground floor project space. Accessible counters and ample storage make the kitchen ideal for resident and public use and aim enrich Primary’s cultural offerings with its capacity to host culinary arts events and workshops.

This phase also includes a staircase and platform lift, linking floors and integrating inclusive access throughout the building.

Pricegore’s partnership with Primary reaches back to 2013, following studies carried out by Pricegore director Dingle Price. This latest evolution represents years of cooperative planning, now realised under Primary’s ownership of the site. With input from residents and board members, Pricegore is advancing Primary’s campus vision, with plans for new studios and workshop facilities within Primary’s grounds. Early designs include courtyards and gardens, anchoring a vibrant future for the organisation’s arts community.

“Our long and collaborative relationship with Primary has allowed us to gain a close understanding of how the organisation operates, as well as its opportunities and ambitions for change,” said Dingle Price, director, Pricegore. “We feel part of the Primary community, and are excited to see how these light touch and economic architectural interventions can radically transform the presence and role of the organisation within the city, and wider arts scene. We look forward to being part of the future development, of which these latest changes form the first critical part.”

Niki Russell, director at Primary meanwhile added: “This is the start of an important new phase in Primary’s development. We will build on the physical changes to our site ensuring that our organisation, creative programming and spaces are more inclusive, shaped through deep work with artists, audiences and local communities. We have laid the foundations for future developments that will maximise the potential of our site.”