Centre Building roof
The Centre Building, situated at the heart of LSE’s campus, has won a London Award and National Award from The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Regarded internationally as a mark of excellence, the awards celebrate the UK’s best new buildings, with a focus on creativity, innovation, and sustainability.
The building, designed by world-leading architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, opened its doors to students, staff and alumni in 2019. Sitting alongside a new public square, the largest, and highest, building at LSE provides a bold focal point for the campus.
Julian Robinson, Director of Estates at LSE, said: “We are delighted RIBA has recognised the LSE Centre Building with both a London and National Award. One of our key aims was to create a sense of community and collaboration for everyone at LSE, and the Centre Building with its central campus square, has certainly achieved that. Congratulations to Estates Capital Development and the whole design and construction team."
Enhancing the campus experience, and improving wayfinding connectivity, the 13-storey building boasts sustainable design principles and innovative collaborative spaces. A core element of its architectural design is the dramatic ‘Academic Stair’, which moves diagonally across the façade of the building in a series of double height spaces. This feature was designed to facilitate dialogue between departments, institutes, and research centres – as well as to provide more informal spaces for the LSE community to interact.
The building hosts many of LSE’s academic departments, four lecture theatres and hundreds of study spaces, as well as a café and accessible roof terraces, which offer an incredible view of Central London.
The Centre Building was the first on the campus to achieve a BREAAM ‘outstanding’ rating and is also shortlisted for an Architects Journal Architecture Award, the outcome of which will be announced on 17 November 2021.