Roundhouse
Roundhouse Works - home to the next generation of creative talent
A new creative centre for young people at the heart of the Roundhouse’s creative campus.
For over 15 years, Roundhouse has equipped young people with the skills to succeed in the creative industries. They have worked with tens of thousands of young people, supporting the creative development of many including the likes of actor Daniel Kaluuya, musician Little Simz and comedy writer Jack Rooke.
Roundhouse Works provides space and state-of-the-art facilities to support young people to turn their creativity into a career, something that’s needed by young people and the creative sector itself.
The creative industries are booming, contributing £109bn to the economy in 2021, rebounding strongly after the pandemic. However, the industry is crying out for diverse talent, with a shortage of workers expected in many industries including broadcast and tech.
Despite the need for creative talent, the challenges blocking young people from making a career have become increasingly acute:
+The cost-of-living crisis is making a career in the creative industries even harder with almost half of young people in a precarious financial situation.
+Practices in the creative industries such as the prevalence of unpaid internships are closing the sector off to many.
+People from under-represented socio-economic backgrounds and people who identify as having a disability experience these barriers more acutely.
Roundhouse Works is responding to these challenges by offering young creatives aged 18-30, affordable membership alongside financial assistance with other costs such as travel or childcare, as well as holistic support from its in-house youth workers. Roundhouse is also forming industry partnerships to aid progression routes into the sector.
Roundhouse Works has been funded by private trusts, individuals and corporate donations with principal support from Inflexion Foundation and Simon Turner with the generous donation of the land from the Norman Trust.
Roundhouse Works is designed by Paddy Dillon architect, with Reed Watts Architects and Allies and Morrison with particular emphasis on reducing the building's impact on the environment. In particular, the sustainably sourced trees used for the cross-laminated timber structure sequester over 250 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere while the reclaimed railway sleepers used on the facade save 8 tonnes of CO2 compared to other forms of cladding.
As a result, and following the integration of solar panels on the roofs, electric vehicle charging points, LED lighting, automatic lighting controls, and other energy efficiency elements, Roundhouse Works has achieved the highly sought-after BREEAM 'Excellent' sustainability accreditation. This will put its environmental performance in the top 10 percent of all new non-domestic buildings in the UK. It is also fully accessible and includes a Space for Change facility.
