Plans for a £22m expansion project for the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London have been released, revealing a new five-storey building to be named 'the ellipse', designed by Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners. To be constructed opposite the Royal Albert Hall, the ellipse will offer purpose-built painting and drawing facilities and a new public exhibition space. Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, rector of the RCA, says the ellipse will transform the college and offer a new dimension to the already thriving cultural quarter of London: As well as groundbreaking educational facilities, the ellipse will house a state-of-the-art exhibition space. Building is due to start in July 2002 and should be complete by the spring of 2004.