RIBA Shortlist for Centre Building at the LSE

RSHP are proud to be on the RIBA London shortlist with a university building that embodies the core values of the LSE - Excellence, Collaboration and Innovation.

Centre Building at the LSE, completed one year ago, opened in time to welcome students to the LSE summer school. Since then the RSHP project team have received positive feedback from full time students and a range of LSE staff. Already the project has been getting recognition in shortlists such as, The Guardian University Awards and the Planning Awards; as well as being a winner in the BREEAM awards for Best Public Building – post construction. More notably, the project architect, Tracy Meller, recently received the inaugural MJ Award for excellence in practice for her role in successfully leading the project.

On hearing about the shortlist, Julian S Robinson, LSE Director of Estates, said “LSE is delighted our wonderful building has been recognised by the RIBA. I remember fondly Richard and Ivan’s analysis of our campus and their master stroke of creating not only a world class building but also a new public square at its very heart. The RHSP team led by Tracy Meller deserve huge congratulations for delivering this vision by designing an inspiring and highly sustainable building for our School community!”

RSHP was awarded the commission through an RIBA organised competition to design the building in 2013 - the only proposal that introduced a public square into the dense central London campus to improve wayfinding and connectivity.

Situated at the heart of LSE’s campus on Houghton Street and Clare Market, the new 13-storey building is the largest and most sustainable building on this central London site. It surrounds a substantial public square offering a much-needed focal point and new quarter into the LSE campus.

The project has gone well beyond the BREEAM Excellent target to achieve “Outstanding” (88.9%), delivering innovative and inspirational teaching spaces including a new prototype ‘LSE style’ lecture theatre and providing departmental space to encourage collaboration and dialogue between departments.