The London School of Mosaic

The London School of Mosaic (LSoM) and public works are working together to bring back into long-term use a vacant car park beneath the Ludham and Waxham Estate in Gospel Oak, London. Rhianon has been Project Architect on the project since 2019, alongside other public works members Tom Dobson, Carlotta Novella & Freddie Wiltshire. The refurbished garages will provide dedicated mosaic and ceramic workshops and facilities alongside artist studios, flexible event spaces and dedicated space for use by local residents and community organisations. The new spaces will be open and operational by Summer 2023.

The London School of Mosaic is an independent art school and charity. It offers a range of educational classes, from short courses up to diplomas in Mosaic Studies. It supports many community groups and individuals with low-cost flexible use space while providing access to a library, study space and facilities including sewing machines, woodworking tools and a kiln. The LSoM provides extensive community outreach to vulnerable individuals and groups, affordable studio spaces hosting artists and a local ceramics co-op, it also works on large-scale mosaic commissions in the public realm.

Lying to the south of Hampstead Heath, the Ludham and Waxham Estate is a social housing project built in 1975, housing over 500 people. Within two years of its completion its undercroft of garages - inward facing with secluded access and limited daylight, fell into disuse and were eventually boarded up. Having lain almost completely derelict for 42 years, the LSoM relocated to the undercroft in 2017 from premises in south London.

Since moving in, the LSoM has worked to build connected community relations, alongside the Ludham & Waxham Tenants & Residents Association, by providing various sessions for those who live within the estates and within the surrounding areas. Building on this, in 2019, it found funding to clear out and open up six garages at the front of its building as a canteen, MOTHER at The Mosaic, provides a piece of outward-facing and publicly accessible social infrastructure, and a place to access high quality food and drink. These activities have created and supported an open forum, providing a way for residents and local people to get involved with the school and think about the future of their area.

The project is funded through the Greater London Authority's Good Growth Fund and by Camden Council.