City of London Primary Academy Islington and Black Raven Court

: City of London

The former Richard Cloudesley school site on Golden Lane came with an ambitious brief: 66 social rented homes, a two-form entry primary school and a 38-place nursery, on a tight plot beside the Grade II listed Golden Lane Estate, with the Barbican and St Luke’s conservation area as backdrop. The demand was real: for school places and for homes in one of London’s most densely populated corners.

Hawkins\Brown worked with the City of London and the London Borough of Islington to answer that brief with something that genuinely knits the Golden Lane Estate and St Luke’s conservation area together, not simply fills the space between them. The residential building is a four-storey brick podium with ten further storeys above. Every home is dual aspect and naturally ventilated. Recessed balconies and decks limit summer overheating without sacrificing winter daylight, creating genuinely good places to live. The school is designed with the same care. Pupils arrive from Golden Lane, moving beneath the residential building into an enclosed playground before school starts. A rooftop play area sits above the three-storey school building. The hall, in a separate structure reached by a covered walkway, holds a full school assembly of 420 pupils and dining for 180 children at once. Out of hours, it belongs to the wider community. None of this happened without sustained conversation. Hawkins\Brown consulted at length with both boroughs, community groups and residents, working carefully through overlook, noise, access and heritage. Engagement wasn’t a box to tick; it shaped the building.