I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but LSE is undergoing a bit of construction these days. Redevelopment of the Centre Buildings started in 2015 and will result in LSE’s biggest building ever. Construction won’t last much longer – the Centre Building opens in May this year, and until then, here’s a little sneak peek inside:
We started our tour by riding up to the twelfth floor in a lift that looked like it was made of plywood. I was terrified, but everything worked perfectly (I’m sure they’ll make some cosmetic changes by the time it opens), and we got to enjoy the amazing views from the roof terrace. Can you spot the London Eye? The other direction is just as cool, with views all the way to Tower Bridge. Great news for the summer term: the Central Building will have three roof terraces, so there’ll be plenty of space to prepare for your exams in the sunshine.
Next our guides took us down a few floors to what will be faculty offices and study spaces. The Centre Building will be home to the International Inequalities Institute, the European Institute, the School of Public Policy, and the Departments of Government and International Relations. The offices look surprisingly like real offices already, with walls, windows, and even bookshelves in a few of them.
One of the goals of the project was to break down barriers between academic staff and students through architecture. It sounds abstract, but it just might work. For example, there’s a huge, open staircase running through the building that will connect different departments on the same floors and will be visible from outside. The elevators will be a bit out of sight on the ground floor, to encourage people to take the stairs. There will be open-plan study areas throughout the building, and an outdoor space out front to encourage conversation between people from different programmes. The Centre Building will also be one of LSE’s most sustainable buildings, with windows that respond to indoor heating, and LED lighting.
There’s a good chance you’ll have classes in the Centre Building next autumn, since it will house 14 seminar rooms, a 200-seat auditorium, and the first ever “LSE-style lecture theatre.” This means that the first two rows of the lecture theatre will be at the same height, making it easy for professors to run seminar-like activities in the middle of a class. And after class, you can head to the brand-new café on the ground floor for a coffee and more intellectual chitchat.
If you’re in your final year or master’s right now, there’s something for you, too. The Centre Buildings Redevelopment will include an Alumni Centre, complete with its own separate entrance.
If you’re curious, you can watch this video to see what the Centre Building will look like in a couple months – or this livestream of the construction site. I was surprised that it actually looks like a real building on the inside – and that the construction workers didn’t seem too grumpy when a group of LSE staff came barging into their workspace and taking pictures.
So even though it’s annoying not being able to walk straight from the Library to the Towers anymore, the Centre Building is nearly finished. And it looks like it’s going to be well worth the wait!
Words and images by LSE Social Media Ambassador Erika Loggin