Clore Management Centre

Status: 1997
Location: Birkbeck College, London

Client: Birkbeck College, University of London
Value: £3.0m

 

“A very polished addition to the area’s recent influx of distinguished new architecture” and in RIBA Journal as “fitting admirably well into a crowded and architecturally chaotic square in the heart of Bloomsbury”.Architects Journal

 

The brief was to provide academic offices, a lecture theatre for 190 people, and teaching space for 600 students from the School of Management and Organisational Psychology. This contemporary energy efficient building was joined to a Georgian terrace, set within the Bloomsbury Conservation Area.

A dialogue was established with local stakeholders and conservation groups, planners and English Heritage to successfully gain acceptance for the new design. The design reflects the neighbouring 18th century terrace in the new facade, divided into three sections that reflect the width of the existing terraces and harmonize level and roof lines.

An innovative structural design was used to ensure that the brick façades are not interrupted by the appearance of movement joints. The building is naturally ventilated with passive energy design that uses the thermal mass of the structure. Light, airy and inspiring spaces were created, using generous windows to draw natural light deep into the heart of the building and connect inside and out.

 

Credits
Cost Consultant: Stockdale
Structural Engineer: Buro Happold
Services Engineer: Buro Happold
Photography: Peter Cook