London School of Economics

61 Aldwych demonstrates how adaptive reuse can transform a landmark city building into an inspiring and sustainable place for learning.

Our team took part in an invited international design competition to reimagine the landmark 61 Aldwych building in central London as a bold new centre for learning, teaching, and research at the heart of LSE’s campus.

Positioned at the prominent junction of Aldwych and Kingsway, 61 Aldwych is an Edwardian building that marks a key gateway into the LSE university quarter. Our proposals sought to amplify that role by opening up the entrance sequence to create a welcoming, permeable threshold that draws students, staff, and visitors into the building and seamlessly connects them through to the wider campus beyond.

The design proposals looked to transform the former commercial offices into vibrant contemporary academic spaces that embody the LSE approach to education, which seeks to combine rigorous, research-led social science with critical, real-world application to prepare students as independent thinkers and global changemakers. The refurbishment targets BREEAM Outstanding and forms a major part of the school’s ambitious, campus‑wide Decarbonisation Strategy, showcasing a model of adaptive reuse and sustainable repositioning for dense urban sites.

From a field of 19 invited international teams, we were shortlisted to the final five, then advanced to the final two, ultimately achieving Runner‑Up in a highly competitive design arena.

The competition submission was put together in collaboration with Studios Architecture (Paris), Atelier Ten, Buro Happold, Eckersley O’Callaghan, and Miltiadou Cook Mitzman.