RIBA success for LSE Centre Building

RSHP is delighted to announce LSE Centre Building's RIBA London and National Award win.

LSE Centre Building completed exactly two years 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.

The project has already been recognised with a Civic Trust Award, a BREEAM award for Best Public Building, and more recently as a finalist in the AJ Architecture Awards. Tracy Meller, the project architect also won the inaugural MJ Long Prize for excellence in practice for her role in successfully leading the project.

Judges comments:

"The tectonic frame and brise-soleil language of the larger twelve-storey slab feels human, inviting and, indeed, provocative – no mean feat on such a tricky site. The course of its meandering internal stair is visible from the outside, a genuinely inventive urban gesture that speaks to the building’s scale and responsibility to create a positive presence."

"Terraces at many levels reinforce and celebrate urban connectivity with well-planted settings and terrific views for staff and students. Inside, the buzz of the main space at ground level is exactly right for a student experience: easily accessed and with loads of informal, IT-rich gathering places."

Tracy Meller, partner, RSHP says, “We are absolutely delighted to receive a RIBA National Award. A real testament to what can be achieved with a client, contractor and design team fully committed to a shared vision. RSHP are extremely proud to have been a part of realising LSE Centre Building. Huge congratulations LSE and all involved.”

On hearing about the win, Julian Robinson, LSE Director of Estates, said “LSE is delighted our wonderful building has been recognised by the RIBA. I remember RSHP’s analysis of our campus and their masterstroke 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 a 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.

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.