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Dulwich College’s recent building work has two distinct parts: a new Lower School library that opened as the Raymond Chandler Library in September 2024, and a 2025 refurbishment of rooms inside the historic Centre Block of the Barry Buildings. The first is a new specialist reading and research facility; the second is a conservation-led renewal of interiors in a Grade II* listed building. They share a campus and architect, but they solve different operational and heritage problems.
The library provides a permanent home for Lower School reading, study and events after a period of temporary provision. The Centre Block commission carefully updates halls, stairs, libraries and meeting rooms while retaining the character of Charles Barry Junior’s nineteenth-century architecture.
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Two projects, two responsibilities
Alma-nac’s work at Dulwich College is best understood as a paired intervention rather than one continuous building project. The Raymond Chandler Library is a new-build educational facility, completed in phases during 2024. The Centre Block commission, completed in 2025, is an internal restoration and refurbishment programme within the Barry Buildings.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →| Project | Primary role | Timing | Published project figures | Setting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond Chandler Library | Specialist Lower School reading and research space, with provision for discussion, outdoor learning and community events | Site start January 2023; phase one complete July 2024; opened September 2024 | 870 m² gross internal area; £5.5 million construction cost, as reported by Building on 4 December 2025 | New construction combined with existing structures |
| Centre Block refurbishment | Conservation and modernisation of principal interior rooms | Completed 2025; works carried out during a six-week summer-holiday period | Approximately £650,000 budget, attributed by Building to alma-nac director Tristan Wigfall | Interiors of the Grade II* listed Barry Buildings |
The figures are not like-for-like. The library cost covers a substantially larger area and a new educational building, while the Centre Block figure relates to a short, room-by-room interior programme. Building is the source for the costs, dates, area and duration; alma-nac and Dulwich College provide the project identity and completion context.
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The Raymond Chandler Library: a permanent Lower School resource
Opening, name and purpose
Dulwich College says the Lower School Library opened in September 2024 and is known as the Raymond Chandler Library. The school describes it as a specialist reading and research space for younger pupils, replacing temporary library provision with a dedicated setting for reading, enquiry and study.
The name recalls Raymond Chandler, who attended Dulwich College from 1900 to 1905 and briefly worked there as a teacher. Prize books he won while at the school are displayed at the entrance, giving the building a direct connection to the college’s literary history rather than treating the name as a decorative label.
Scale, programme and construction sequence
Building’s project report records a January 2023 start on site, phase-one completion in July 2024 and an 870 m² gross internal area. It gives a construction cost of £5.5 million. The school’s September opening followed that reported phase-one completion, allowing the library to enter use in the 2024–25 academic year.
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Alma-nac lists the library as complete in 2024. Its description says the scheme combines existing structures with new construction and was planned around circulation, informal discussion, outdoor learning and holistic education. Those are design priorities stated by the architect; the available material does not establish measured effects on attainment, reading habits or wellbeing.
Pupils and teachers changed the design
Participation was not limited to a presentation at the end of the design process. The project report describes an inclusive co-design approach inspired by the Baupiloten method, with interactive workshops involving pupils and staff. Their feedback substantially reconfigured the architects’ initial layout.
That process matters in a lower-school library because the brief must accommodate several kinds of use at once: quiet reading, research, group discussion, movement between activities and teaching that may spill outdoors. A plan adjusted through workshops can respond to how pupils actually navigate a building, where supervision is needed and which spaces teachers consider practical. The report documents the design change, but it does not provide a post-occupancy study quantifying how often each setting is used.
Community use beyond the school day
During planning, a community-use agreement with Southwark Council was associated with the library. Building reports that the facility is intended to host events including the Dulwich Literary Festival and initiatives with the Southwark Schools’ Learning Partnership. These arrangements broaden the building’s role beyond daily school lessons, while the project reporting does not set out a complete calendar or attendance figures.
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Carbon strategy and what has been demonstrated
LETI target and embodied carbon
Alma-nac describes the library as a carbon net-zero school building designed to LETI Net Zero Carbon standards. Building reports that the project achieved its embodied-carbon target. In the same report, alma-nac director Tristan Wigfall said: “Where we do have concrete, it’s low embodied carbon – the same with the steel.”
The statement concerns the design standard and the reported embodied-carbon result. It should not be read as proof that the building has demonstrated net-zero operation over a full year. No underlying carbon calculation, material schedule or independent certification is published in the supplied project information.
Operational energy remains a monitored issue
After the library had been in use for a year, the project team was analysing and optimising operational-energy data to address a small performance gap, according to Building. The report does not publish the energy readings or a verified post-occupancy evaluation. The accurate description is therefore that the library was designed to the LETI standard, reportedly met its embodied-carbon target and was still being tuned in use; operational net zero has not been independently demonstrated in the available evidence.
Rank #3
Alma-nac’s project page reproduces the Architect of the Year Awards 2025 judges’ assessment: “alma-nac impressed the judges with exceptional detailing, premium materials, and a thoughtful approach to embodied and operational carbon. Their work reflects a deep commitment to quality and sustainability, setting a high standard for contemporary architectural practice.” This is an awards citation, not an energy-monitoring result.
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A listed campus landmark
Dulwich College was re-established on its Dulwich Common site in 1869. The Barry Buildings were designed by Charles Barry Junior, son of the architect associated with the Houses of Parliament. Barry Junior described his architectural language as “North Italian of the Thirteenth Century.” Dulwich College identifies the buildings as Grade II* listed, and internal classroom restoration across the Barry Buildings is being carried out in phases.
The listing changes the design problem. A new library can establish its own circulation, structure and environmental systems; work in the Barry Buildings must protect significant fabric and spatial character while making rooms function for a contemporary school. Alma-nac describes the Centre Block project as combining sensitive conservation with modern upgrades, including improved lighting, renewed materials and reconfigured interiors.
The 2025 Centre Block commission is one phase, not the whole restoration
Alma-nac lists its Centre Block restoration as completed in 2025. This commission should not be confused with the longer-running restoration of the Barry Buildings as a whole. The planning design-and-access statement identifies the relevant listed building as Dulwich College Main Building, Grade II*, list entry 1385418.
What was refurbished inside the Centre Block
Lower Hall and main stairs
The application scope covered internal restoration and refurbishment of the Lower Hall, together with the north and south main stairs. Building describes a restrained visual refresh: sofas were replaced with adaptable wooden benches, a large chandelier was changed to a minimal ring light and the colour scheme was neutralised to make architectural details easier to read.
These moves illustrate the balance required in a listed interior. Benches can support changing patterns of gathering without introducing a dominant contemporary object; a simpler light fitting can reduce visual competition with historic fabric; and a quieter palette can reveal proportions, mouldings and circulation routes. Building’s account and the approximately £650,000 budget are reported descriptions attributed to alma-nac director Tristan Wigfall, not an audited project-cost statement from the college.
Master’s Library and Boardroom
The Centre Block scope also included restoration of the Master’s Library and the Boardroom. The published material identifies these rooms as part of the programme but does not give a separate cost, area or itemised schedule for each one. Their inclusion shows that the commission addressed formal institutional rooms as well as high-traffic circulation spaces.
Master’s Common Room and adjacent rooms
The Master’s Common Room was refurbished, including removal of a non-original servery. The planning statement also allows a new internal door opening to the Pigeonhole Room and other minor internal door alterations. Because these changes are internal and targeted, they can improve movement and day-to-day use without treating the listed building as a blank shell.
How the interventions differ in design and delivery
| Comparison point | Lower School Library | Centre Block refurbishment |
|---|---|---|
| Function | Dedicated reading, research, teaching and event space for Lower School pupils | Renewed circulation, meeting, library and common-room interiors in the historic centre of the campus |
| Physical work | New construction combined with existing structures | Internal conservation, renewed finishes and lighting, and selective reconfiguration |
| Design participation | Workshops with pupils and staff substantially altered the initial layout | Planning and conservation controls shaped room-by-room interventions |
| Environmental evidence | Designed to LETI Net Zero Carbon standards; embodied-carbon target reportedly achieved; operational energy being analysed after one year | Modern lighting and material upgrades are reported, but no project-wide energy result is published |
| Available cost evidence | £5.5 million construction cost reported by Building | Approximately £650,000 budget reported by Building and attributed to Tristan Wigfall |
The contrast is useful for clients planning work on educational estates. New facilities allow the brief, structure and servicing strategy to be developed together, while listed-building projects depend on careful sequencing, reversible decisions where possible and agreement about what must remain legible. Neither approach is inherently simpler: the library carries the complexity of a new, high-performance building; the Centre Block carries the constraints of existing heritage fabric.
Programme, approvals and construction management
Library delivery
The reported library sequence runs from a January 2023 site start to July 2024 phase-one completion, followed by the school’s September 2024 opening. The co-design workshops had to feed into a live educational brief while the building moved toward construction. The 870 m² area and £5.5 million cost reported by Building provide scale, but the source does not break the total into structure, services, furniture, external works or professional fees.
Centre Block delivery during the summer holiday
Building reports that the Centre Block work was completed in a six-week summer-holiday period. Carrying out disruptive work while pupils are away can reduce safeguarding and timetable conflicts, but it compresses surveys, approvals, procurement, installation and commissioning into a narrow window. The reported programme therefore helps explain why the scope concentrated on defined rooms and internal alterations rather than a wholesale rebuilding of the listed block.
Working within a listed building
The planning design-and-access statement is the clearest scope check for the Centre Block application. It names the Lower Hall, both main stairs, Master’s Library, Boardroom, Master’s Common Room, Pigeonhole Room door opening and minor internal door changes. Keeping those items distinct prevents the 2025 commission from being presented as completion of every restoration need across the Barry Buildings.
What the projects mean for Dulwich College
Together, the projects extend the campus in two directions. The Raymond Chandler Library adds capacity and a specialist learning environment designed around Lower School use, with a documented attempt to let pupils and teachers shape the plan. The Centre Block work keeps heavily used and symbolically important rooms viable while clarifying the historic architecture.
The projects also show why performance claims need precise wording. The library has a reported embodied-carbon achievement and an ongoing operational-energy optimisation process, not a published proof of operational net zero. The Centre Block has a reported budget, programme and detailed room scope, not a full cost plan for the wider Barry Buildings restoration. Those distinctions make the available information more useful to schools, conservation clients and project teams considering similar work.
Quick Recap
Key facts at a glance
- The Raymond Chandler Library opened at Dulwich College in September 2024 as a specialist Lower School reading and research space.
- Building reports a January 2023 library site start, July 2024 phase-one completion, 870 m² gross internal area and £5.5 million construction cost.
- Pupil and teacher workshops, using an approach inspired by Baupiloten, substantially changed the architects’ initial library layout.
- The library was designed to LETI Net Zero Carbon standards; Building reports that its embodied-carbon target was achieved and that operational energy was still being optimised after one year of use.
- The Barry Buildings were designed by Charles Barry Junior and are Grade II* listed; restoration of the wider complex is phased.
- Alma-nac’s Centre Block project, completed in 2025, covered the Lower Hall, main stairs, Master’s Library, Boardroom, Master’s Common Room and associated internal alterations.
- Building reports an approximately £650,000 Centre Block budget and a six-week summer-holiday construction period, attributed to alma-nac director Tristan Wigfall.
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