Bankside House Redevelopment

A joint submission by architects Carmody Groarke and Sheppard Robson is the winning scheme for LSE's ‘Bankside’ competition, delivering affordable student accommodation with development partner Bouygues UK and Equitix. 

The architectural partnership was amongst a shortlist of six competition teams and has been chosen to take their designs forward to deliver what aspires to be the ‘best university halls of residence in London’. There will be a particular design emphasis on sustainability, health, student wellbeing and affordability. 

Taking the place of the existing Bankside House student accommodation building located behind Tate Modern, the design is developed around the idea of three ‘houses’. The accommodation will target a provision of up to 2,000-beds, grouped into three communities of around 650 students, housed in individual buildings. The three ‘houses’ are connected at the lower floors and via garden terraces. 

The creation of three blocks and the distribution of social and amenity space within each building aims to break down student numbers into manageable clusters, helping the formation of communities and providing a ‘sense of home’ in each. 

Carmody Groarke and Sheppard Robson’s winning design carefully considered the brief in a stand-out way whilst offering flexibility and the opportunity to provide an efficient space that still satisfies the full brief. 

With one front door ‘welcoming all’, orientated towards both the LSE campus and Tate Modern, the design strengthens the connections between key institutions whilst leaning on a ‘living room’ entrance concept and creating an environment that prioritises a positive living experience with comfort and convenience. 

The scheme set targets of Passivhaus certification and LETI standards as well as WELL Standard and BREEAM Outstanding, which will be developed in the next stages of design. 

Architectural Design Competition Public Exhibition

The six designs presented by the shortlisted teams will be on display in the Marshall Building, Great Hall from Wednesday 13 March to Friday 15 March 2024.

Staff, students, alumni, governors and other visitors are all invited to visit the exhibition and provide feedback on the entries.

The material is deliberately anonymous so that each proposal can be judged solely on its design merit.

Your thoughts will provide an important steer for the jury panel which will select the winning design at the end of March 2024 and will help to shape the direction we take.

For more information and for a link to the feedback form (which will only be open for the duration of the exhibition) see the attached (pdf) 

Architectural shortlist for Bankside House redevelopment design competition announced by LSE

LSE, alongside development partners, Bouygues UK-Equitix consortium, announced the shortlist for an architectural competition for the redevelopment of Bankside House in Southwark, London.

Equitix and Bouygues UK undertook a prequalifying exercise with a mutually agreed longlist of architects in late 2023 during their successful tender, and will work with LSE to maximise the potential of the site and prepare a planning application for submission to London Borough of Southwark in 2025.

The firms shortlisted for the Bankside redevelopment competition, here in alphabetical order, are:

• AHMM
• Allies and Morrison
• Carmody Groarke and Sheppard Robson
• COBE (DNK) and TP Bennett
• RSHP with Tigg Coll
• SOM (Skidmore, Owings and Merrill)

“This location will require a piece of world class architecture which will meet the ambitions of both LSE and Southwark. The calibre of this shortlisted a testament to each studio’s exceptional design and delivery standards- each in their own design language.

The partnership with our development managers with such extensive sector specific knowledge is set to deliver a landmark building and raise the bar in the provision of affordable student accommodation in the city”, says Julian Robinson, Director of Estates, LSE.

The competition is due to commence in late January, with a core team in place by April this year. 

The jury panel will comprise Julian Robinson (Director of Estates), Professor Ricky Burdett (Director of LSE Cities), Ian Spencer (Director of Residential and Catering Services) and James Relf (General Secretary of the Students’ Union) from LSE.

Representatives from the Development Partner consortium include Oliver Campbell (Development Director at Linkcity, Bouygues UK's development arm), Tristan Meredith (Equitix Development Director) and Colin Boyd (Bouygues UK Design Director), with Isabel Allen (Editor of Architecture Today), chairing the panel.

Construction is expected to start on site in 2026, with completion earmarked for 2030, ready for students to move into at the start of the academic year.

LSE select Preferred Development Partner for Bankside House scheme

The LSE has selected a consortium comprised of Bouygues UK and Equitix as a Preferred Partner to progress plans to redevelop their existing Bankside House student residence, located opposite the Tate Modern in Southwark. The project will look to significantly increase the amount of student accommodation available on the site to support the School’s ambition to offer a bed space to every first-year student by 2030. To meet this aspiration the School is looking to have access to 6,000 bed spaces across the portfolio. 

The new development will provide high-quality housing and amenity space, whilst building on LSE’s reputation for delivering well designed, sustainable buildings with a focus on civic engagement and the local community. Bouygues UK/Equitix were selected following extensive engagement with the market in 2022 and early 2023, and a period of competitive dialogue between a small number of sector specialists in the second half of 2023. LSE will now work in conjunction with Bouygues UK/Equitix to select a design team and work up proposals for a planning application in early 2025.

LSE was advised by QMPF, Pinsent Masons, Turner and Townsend alinea (Cost management) and Rolfe Judd (Planning) during the selection process.

Ian Spencer, LSE Director of Residential and Catering Services, said, “I am delighted to be working with Bouygues UK and Equitix on this project. Using their knowledge and experience and working alongside our colleagues in LSE Estates we are looking to create a first class building which offers bed spaces at affordable rents. The new hall will have dining facilities enabling our student community to eat and socialise together.  Working with the LSE Students Union, our Residential Life team will develop a Residential Life programme ensuring the hall has an excellent sense of community and develops ties with the local community in Bankside.”