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The London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) has appointed McLaren Construction for a 拢100m retrofit and extension of an existing 1950s building at 35 Lincoln鈥檚 Inn Fields to create a home for the Firoz Lalji Global Hub.

The redevelopment has been designed by David Chipperfield Architects to be an exemplar in circular design and resource efficiency. It is expected to be the largest Passivhaus retrofit building in the UK.

Around 60% of the original building will be retained when the top three floors and roof plant enclosure are demolished and replaced by a lightweight cross-laminated timber extension, taking the building from 9,856 square metres to 11,848 square metres. The removal of an infill structure at the core of the building frees up the floor plan and creates an atrium, while a new ground floor and partial first floor slab will facilitate level access into the building.

The remodelled building at 35 Lincoln鈥檚 Inn Fields will accommodate not just the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, but additional space for the Department of Mathematics, Department of Statistics, Executive Education and Data Science Institute. New space includes a range of teaching spaces, including lecture halls and seminar rooms, as well as offices, a dining area, external terrace and ground floor caf茅. A multi-purpose teaching and debating space, the 270-seat LSE Agora theatre, will be used for debates and broadcasts.

Cycle parking, changing rooms, showers, locker facilities and mechanical plant will be at basement level and new mechanical plant, green and blue roofs and photovoltaic panels installed on the new roof.

As a sustainability flagship for the LSE, the new building targets BREEAM Outstanding, Passivhaus certification and WELL Platinum, as well as exceeding London鈥檚 ambitious embodied and operational carbon, energy, water use, and biodiversity targets.

In collaboration with carbon consultant Buro Happold, McLaren has identified strategies to reduce the embodied carbon footprint of the project. This includes re-evaluating material choices, omitting unnecessary components and integrating low-carbon alternatives wherever feasible.

To minimise overall carbon emissions throughout the project's lifecycle and support the circular economy, the building is designed to be adaptable, flexible and deconstructable. Materials salvaged for reuse include parquet and timber flooring, brass inlays from wall panelling, various lighting fixtures, ceramic tiles and rainwater hoppers and both internal and external brickwork. The team has also secured materials from other nearby sites for use on the project.

The existing eight-storey brick building sits in a sensitive location in the Strand Conservation Area between the Grade ll* listed Royal College of Surgeons and the Grade ll listed former Land Registry building on the south side of Lincoln鈥檚 Inn Fields, which is itself a Grade ll Registered Park and Garden. The building鈥檚 external appearance will be refreshed with a lime-based, off-white wash brush applied to the brick, maintaining the textured finish of the masonry, while masking imperfections.

Julian Robinson, director of estates at the LSE, said: 鈥淭his transformative project represents a major milestone in LSE鈥檚 ongoing commitment to innovation, sustainability and academic excellence. It sets out to redefine standards in building reuse and sustainable development, targeting high accreditations alongside ambitious embodied and operational carbon targets.

鈥淭his facility will not only serve our academic community but also stand as an exemplar in sustainable design and construction across the sector. This is more than a building, it鈥檚 a bold statement about the future of education, architecture and environmental responsibility.鈥�

McLaren Construction鈥檚 managing director for London & South, Darren Gill, said: 鈥淩etrofit techniques have advanced to the point where we can remodel 70-year-old buildings to create world-class spaces at the same time as minimising both the embodied carbon in a construction project and the future operational carbon emissions.

鈥淲ith the new LSE Agora, McLaren will be responsible for creating a space that will become an iconic symbol of London鈥檚 open academic life around the world.鈥�

The new building is scheduled for completion in 2027.

The project has been made possible by a 拢28m donation of from Ugandan Asian businessman Firoz Lalji, who made his first fortune from a chain of camera stores in Canada. 聽

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