super SATELLITE x NEX, London Borough of Wandsworth for Legal & General and New Acres with Kevin Haley Studio in partnership with Royal College of Art

super SATELLITE x NEX, London Borough of Wandsworth for Legal & General and New Acres with Kevin Haley Studio in partnership with Royal College of Art

 

Located within New Acres — a major new development in Wandsworth Town with 1,000+ homes, 25 commercial units and public realm — super SATELLITE × NEX was designed and curated by Kevin Haley Studio, in partnership with L&G and the RCA reimagining one ground floor unit as a public testbed.

 

 

What is the programme and use of the space? How does the project foster community, connect people and contribute to urban life?

 

super SATELLITE x NEX fostered community to meet, make and share with a café, archive, concept space and studio inviting participation, connection, opportunities and shaping the neighbourhood tapestry. The space connected residents, artists, students, families and local organisations. By activating the ground floor, it contributed to local life and brought a sense of civic energy to the street.
 
 It was curated as an adaptable environment on a dual rhythms. 
 
 The Slow Rhythm was about reflection, experimentation and collaboration including: .
 
 wasteCOLLECTION – New Acres site construction waste transformed into furniture.
 
 reFRAME – sustainable design repurposed materials through talks, workshops and exhibitions. 
 
 Co-Creating Wandsworth – a Wandsworth Council commission with artists, designers and locals considering how Wandsworth Town could be improved
 
 Craft and Draft reimagined the pub as a civic space. Participants co-designed and co-built the interior from found materials, then used it for 30+ community events. 
 
 The Fast Rhythm brought the ground floor to life. super SATELLITE × NEX hosted 75+ public events, with an average turnout of 100+, drawing in residents, RCA students, creatives and local families. Highlights include: 
 
 Wear Your History, a T-shirt workshop exploring Wandsworth heritage
 
 Memory in Clay, local stories emerged through ceramics
 
 Entrepreneur or Employee?, a talk on local business. 
 
 Forgotten Wandsworth, reimagining overlooked spaces, culminating in a published newspaper. 
 
 A short film exploring social sustainability was shot in the space and screened internationally. 
 
 The Wandsworth Town Property Partnership – planners, creatives and residents reimagined the high street.

 

How does the community space make a positive social and environmental contribution? 

 Focus on Health: The space supports wellbeing through creativity, social connection and inclusive access with workshops, drop-ins and community-led events in a relaxed, adaptable setting built for long-term reuse. 
 
 Plan for Future Generations: The project supports creatives, families and residents to test, learn and share. Many events are first-time experiments fostering lifelong learning within neighbourhood life. 
 
 Value Diversity: Open to all, with no selection process, the space reflects a mix of ages, cultures and disciplines. Programmes are shaped by those who use it — from storytelling to sustainability, food to fitness. 
 
 Work in Partnership: Co-created with RCA, Legal & General, Wandsworth Council and the community, the space is shared and shaped by those who use it — with keys handed over when ideas align with its ethos. 
 
 Design for Disassembly: allowing every element to be reused across the wider development. The CNC cut structures, partitions and furniture can be relocated, repurposed or adapted for future, ensuring the entire fit out has a second life with zero waste
 
 Neighbourhood Identity: The Community Archive and played a vital role in shaping a shared sense of place. More than 50 stories and 200 contributions showed that residents are actively documenting their lived experience. 
 
 Supporting local enterprise: The Concept Space allowed 5 independent businesses to test their ideas before committing to a permanent unit. This reduced risk for early stage entrepreneurs and contributed directly to the commercial strategy that supports 30 independent and creative businesses across the development.

 

Please explain the governance of the project, such as its viability, purpose, motivation and any consultation, co-creation or community engagement undertaken in the development of the community space. 

 

The governance of super SATELLITE x NEX was shaped through a collaboration between Legal and General, Kevin Haley Studio, the Royal College of Art and Wandsworth Council. Each partner had a clear role. Legal and General provided strategic oversight and alignment with the wider New Acres masterplan. Kevin Haley Studio led design, curation and daily stewardship. The Royal College of Art delivered workshops, residencies and educational programming. Wandsworth Council contributed local insight and connected the project to broader place based priorities.

The purpose of the project was to test how a ground floor unit could support community life, creativity and enterprise within a new residential development. The motivation was to create a civic interior that could grow with the neighbourhood and provide a prototype for future phases of the masterplan.
 
The project was designed to be financially and operationally viable. Costs were intentionally low through a modular, zero waste fit out built for complete disassembly and reuse across the development. The Concept Space supported early stage businesses and informed long term commercial planning. The 404 resident run Café provided daily activity and a stable social anchor. Community engagement and co creation were central to the governance model. The programme was shaped by residents, students, artists and local organisations through regular workshops, open calls, residencies and activities. More than 200 contributions to the Community Board and more than 50 stories in the Archive show continuous public involvement. Residents increasingly initiated their own events, demonstrating shared ownership and long term relevance.