LSE SAW SWEE HOCK STUDENTS' CENTRE BY O'DONNELL + TUOMEY
The brief was to
bring student facilities together under one roof. The multi-functional building
includes a venue, pub, learning café, media, prayer, offices, gym, careers,
dance studio and social spaces.
The brief asked for
the "best student building in the UK" and had the aspiration for
BREEAM Excellent rating. The design achieved BREEAM Outstanding. he site lies
within the Strand Conservation Area. The context was complex and the site was
restricted by surrounding building lines.
Specifications were
closely monitored by Westminster
planners, who supported the ambition for a contemporary design integrated with
its setting. Throughout the building process, the planners maintained a
commitment to the enduring quality of carefully crafted construction.
The site is located
at the knuckle-point convergence of narrow streets that characterise the LSE
city centre campus. The faceted facade operates with respect to the Rights of
Light Envelope and is tailored to lines of sight, to be viewed from street
corner perspectives and to make visual connections between internal and
external circulation.
The brick skin is
cut along fold lines to form large areas of glazing, framing views. Analysis of
the context has influenced the first principles of a site specific
architectural design. The building is designed to embody the dynamic character
of a contemporary Student Centre.
The complex
geometries of the site provided a starting point for a lively arrangement of
irregular floor plates, each particular to its function. Space flows freely in
plan and section, with stairs turning to create meeting places at every level.
London is a city of bricks. The building is clad with
bricks, with each brick offset from the next in an open work pattern, creating
dappled daylight inside and glowing like a lattice lantern at night. The
building has the robust adaptability of a lived-in warehouse, with solid wooden
floors underfoot.
The structure is a
combination of reinforced concrete and steelwork. Steel trusses or ribbed
concrete slabs span the big spaces. Circular steel columns prop office floors
between the large span volumes and punctuate the open floor plan of the café.
Concrete ceilings contribute thermal mass with acoustic clouds suspended to
soften the sound.
There are no
closed-in corridors. Every hallway has daylight and views in at least one
direction. Every office workspace has views to the outside world. The basement
venue is daylit from clerestory windows. The building is designed with accessibility and
inclusive design as key considerations.
Approaches are step free. Floor plates are flat
without steps. Circulation routes are open and legible with clearly
identifiable way-finding. Services are located at consistent locations. The
central wide stair was carefully designed to comply with standards and details
agreed with the approved inspector.
Location: London, UK
Architect: O'Donnell+Tuomey Architects
Structural Engineer: Dewhurst Macfarlane and
Partners/Horganlynch
Services +
Environmental Engineer: BDSP
Security / Fire /
Acoustics / Transport & Logistics / Venue: Arup
Archaeology: Gifford
Project Manager: Turner & Townsend
Quantity Surveyor: Northcroft
Planning Consultant: Turley Associates
Party Wall Consultant: Anstey Horne
Building Control
Consultant:
Carillion
CDM Coordinator: Gardiner & Theobald
Main Contractor: Geoffrey Osborne Limited
Size GIA: 6,100m
Year: 2013-2014
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