Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
What happens when Zaha Hadid designs a London school around a 100-metre running track?
In this film, architect Peter Cook explores Ark Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton – Zaha Hadid’s first built project in England and the Stirling Prize–winning “running-track school” that cuts a bright red sprint lane straight through its heart.
Cook unpacks how Hadid takes a tight, ordinary suburban site and turns it into an energetic landscape of zig-zagging forms, bridges and terraces. The building is organised as “schools within a school”, riding over sports pitches and circulation routes so that movement, games and athleticism become the architecture rather than an afterthought.
Inside, twisting corridors, generous natural light and robust materials create a space that feels both tough and optimistic – a place where students can actually run, gather and see the city differently. When the RIBA Stirling Prize jury visited in 2011, they praised its confidence, civic ambition and belief in what a state school could be.
This film is part of our ongoing series on every building Zaha Hadid realised in her lifetime, tracing how her radical modernism evolved from early experiments to fully built civic landmarks.
Featuring
Peter Cook – architect, educator and critic
Zaha Hadid Architects – Evelyn Grace Academy, Brixton, London
Viva Cee - Music Composition
🎞️ Watch more Zaha Hadid on HENI Talks:
• Zaha Hadid: Maggie’s Centre – a sanctuary shaped by her fluid forms.
• Zaha Hadid: Vitra Fire Station – her first constructed project.
• Zaha Hadid: Olympic Swimming Pool – London’s 2012 Aquatics Centre.
🎥 Presented by HENI Talks — films that bring art, design, and architecture to life.
🔔 Subscribe for more films on art, architecture, and culture:
/ @henitalks
👍 Like, comment, and share to support our work!
🌐 Learn more:
Web — heni.com
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🏷️ Tags
#ZahaHadid #Architecture #EvelynGraceAcademy #Brixton #LondonArchitecture #SchoolDesign #ModernArchitecture #ZahaHadidfoundation #StirlingPrize #EducationArchitecture #ArkAcademy #PeterCook #HENITalks
What happens when Zaha Hadid designs a London school around a 100-metre running track?
In this film, architect Peter Cook explores Ark Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton – Zaha Hadid’s first built project in England and the Stirling Prize–winning “running-track school” that cuts a bright red sprint lane straight through its heart.
Cook unpacks how Hadid takes a tight, ordinary suburban site and turns it into an energetic landscape of zig-zagging forms, bridges and terraces. The building is organised as “schools within a school”, riding over sports pitches and circulation routes so that movement, games and athleticism become the architecture rather than an afterthought.
Inside, twisting corridors, generous natural light and robust materials create a space that feels both tough and optimistic – a place where students can actually run, gather and see the city differently. When the RIBA Stirling Prize jury visited in 2011, they praised its confidence, civic ambition and belief in what a state school could be.
This film is part of our ongoing series on every building Zaha Hadid realised in her lifetime, tracing how her radical modernism evolved from early experiments to fully built civic landmarks.
Featuring
Peter Cook – architect, educator and critic
Zaha Hadid Architects – Evelyn Grace Academy, Brixton, London
Viva Cee - Music Composition
🎞️ Watch more Zaha Hadid on HENI Talks:
• Zaha Hadid: Maggie’s Centre – a sanctuary shaped by her fluid forms.
• Zaha Hadid: Vitra Fire Station – her first constructed project.
• Zaha Hadid: Olympic Swimming Pool – London’s 2012 Aquatics Centre.
🎥 Presented by HENI Talks — films that bring art, design, and architecture to life.
🔔 Subscribe for more films on art, architecture, and culture:
/ @henitalks
👍 Like, comment, and share to support our work!
🌐 Learn more:
Web — heni.com
Instagram — / heni
TikTok — / heni
X — https://x.com/heni
🏷️ Tags
#ZahaHadid #Architecture #EvelynGraceAcademy #Brixton #LondonArchitecture #SchoolDesign #ModernArchitecture #ZahaHadidfoundation #StirlingPrize #EducationArchitecture #ArkAcademy #PeterCook #HENITalks
