Useful Studio worked with West London College and Berkeley West Thames to deliver an innovative learning space to address the UK’s construction skills shortage.

Southall Waterside is a large-scale development that delivered thousands of homes alongside new retail and community facilities. This included a new construction skills training facility in the heart of the site, enabling students to directly progress from the classroom to construction of this significant site, providing the skills necessary to meet the demands of delivery.

The building comprises two primary elements that enclose an external makers’ yard: initially, a site cabin for classroom-based learning and a warehouse structure for practical training. The flexible nature of the building firstly enabled it to be adapted to host corporate training at first floor and a show room for the wider development. The latest iteration of the scheme has been the establishment of Parkside Yards, a new community destination for The Green Quarter and west London (link below).