University of the Arts London
UAL was assembled in 1986 from London's art schools — Camberwell, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea, the London College of Communication, the London College of Fashion and Wimbledon — some with lineages back to the 1850s. Central Saint Martins now occupies the Granary Building at King's Cross, a converted goods depot whose platforms produce graduates instead of freight.
Its scale is unmatched in Europe: around twenty thousand students across six colleges and a dozen sites, with fashion the crown — the London College of Fashion and Saint Martins between them have dressed the century's runways. A striking share of Turner Prize winners and nominees passed through its studios; the prospectus wisely declines to count precisely.
Field notes
- Saint Martins' 1854 foundation began as a parish art school behind St Martin-in-the-Fields.
- The Granary Building's fountains are student-territory in June — degree shows spill onto the plaza.
- Alexander McQueen's graduation show, staged in a smoke machine, is already legend.
Notable connections
In brief — from the field guide
Europe's largest university for art, design and fashion — six colleges, from Central Saint Martins at King's Cross to the London College of Fashion, with a Turner Prize record no institution matches.
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