Facilities

Technicians play a vital role in this. These highly skilled specialists provide support in a wide range of traditional making processes, including glass, metalwork, jewellery, embroidery, screen printing, dying or letterpress printing. A vertically integrated approach means that faculty, technicians and students all work within the same experimental space, each contributing their own ideas and skills.

The College also provides specialist facilities across cutting-edge digital technologies such as VR, 360 sound, robotics, rapid prototyping, CNC milling and 3D scanning.

3D Making

Facilities include woodwork, metal fabrication, plastics and making spaces. Spray rooms at Kensington and Battersea are available for spray paint finishes. The Future Materials workshops provide a wide range of mould making and casting facilities.

Digital aided making facilities support subtractive manufacturing in the form of laser cutting, CNC machining and fibre laser cutting. The equipment includes 3 and 4 axis bench top CNC and large-format CNC machines. Students are able to experience working with a variety of materials including plastic, wood, metal and synthetic media in facilities based at Kensington and Battersea.

Ceramics & Glass

Facilities include areas for hot glass making, cold glass working, kiln forming, plaster model and mould making, plastic clay making, as well as clay and glaze development.

Please be aware that materials and some services will incur an additional cost. Additional costs can include purchases and services (without limitation): costs related to the purchase of books, paints, textiles, wood, metal, plastics and/or other materials in connection with your programme, services related to the use of printing and photocopying, lasercutting, 3D printing and CNC.

College Shop and Raw Materials Store

The stores sell a variety of graphics, art, fabric and haberdashery supplies, wood and acrylic, stationery and paper, as well as free hire of tools and ladders.

Fine metal & jewellery

These facilities provide mixed media support for fine, small-scale work including metal casting, cutting and forming along with other materials in small scale works.

Fashion

Facilities include access to a fabric stockroom and specialist software within the College computing suite, as well as a wide variety of specialist sewing machinery, for both apparel and footwear, as well as dummies and finishing presses.

Lens-based media and audio resources

Facilities include a variety of lens based analog and digital photography, animation and moving-image equipment and studios that provide filming, lighting, sound studio spaces plus post production.

Library

The RCA Library is an inspiring and invaluable resource to inform and enhance study, research, teaching and studio practice at the College.

Our collections include over 70,000 books on art and design and other complementary subjects reflecting the full range of activity at the RCA. We have current subscriptions to a variety of journals and magazines as well as a collection of older titles.

Online Resources include ebooks, ejournals, databases and image & video collections.

Our Special Collections & Archives include a photographic record of student work and the UK’s largest collection on the subject of colour – the Colour Reference Library. It also includes the RCA archive, which holds material relating to the history of the College, as well as other special collections and archives. 

Library staff are available to help our users find resources, provide tips on searching, advise on referencing and more. We deliver workshops and drop in sessions to support students; working with departments across college to ensure that library resources meet their needs. 

Explore our collections using RCA Library Search.

Further information on the Library can be found on Moodle (current staff and students only.)

Visitors are welcome to the Library and to the Special Collections & Archives. More information here.

Painting and sculpture

Materials spaces are provided, as well as a stretcher service and well-equipped metal and woodwork spaces.

Printmaking and letterpress

Facilities include a large workshop variety of silkscreen processes, letterpress, etching, litho and mono printing.

Digital print labs

Provide high quality large format printing, including: posters, vinyl signage and archival inkjet prints, with labs at Battersea, Kensington and White City.

Resource stores

Free hire of lens-based media and AV equipment including digital cameras, tripods, lighting, monitors, projects and peripherals.

Computing & Technology (CAT) Zones

There are several CAT Zones across the College. These include open-access high performance computing areas, both Mac and PC, as well as dedicated software training rooms. The technical spaces here showcase a variety of software and digital processes including group and one-to-one sessions with technical instructors.

Textiles

Facilities for textiles include a large-scale silkscreen print table space, a dedicated dye lab, mixed media and sewing facilities and extensive knit and weave facilities that include computerised handlooms, an industrial jacquard power loom with APSO software and a dobby power loom. High-tech printing and knitting is also accessible with a state-of-the-art Shima digital knit facility.