We are improving our buildings in London to provide a high quality, flexible and sustainable environment for research and education. Investment in infrastructure was a key part of the LSHTM 2017-22 strategy and the estates masterplan underpins priorities in the 2022-27 strategy to enhance people’s experience of studying at, working at or visiting LSHTM.
The COVID-19 pandemic shone a light on the importance of our scientific rigour and ability to collaborate quickly and effectively with partners globally. In our evermore complex and unpredictable world, with more emerging threats to public health, we need to find ways to see over the horizon. Having the right kind of facilities is key to achieving our vision for a more healthy, sustainable and equitable world.
Tavistock Place
Our new building at Tavistock Place – LSHTM’s first completely new building on its London site since 1929 – was completed in 2023.
The Tavistock Place 2 building, or ‘TP2’ for short, is on the site of a large shed/outbuilding previously used for storage on LSHTM land behind its existing, older Tavistock Place building (‘TP1’).
Carefully designed by architects to maximise the tightly constrained space, and shortlisted for the Architects' Journal Architecture Awards 2023 in the Higher Education category, it features:
- More than 2,500m2 of high-quality, collaborative working space for research and office staff.
- Cascading terraces with rooftop gardens and a ‘blue roof’ for more sustainable use of rainwater.
- The building has been rated BREEAM Excellent for its sustainable design.
- Map patterns carved into brass screens around the building inspired by the ‘father of epidemiology’ John Snow’s 19th century cholera maps – a nod to the past as we build a more equitable and collaborative shared future with shared health at its heart.
- A bright and airy atrium running through the centre – a physical symbol of our vision of partnerships and open knowledge exchange, connecting different experiences and perspectives towards a common goal.
Find out more in this Tavistock Place Q&A.
Next steps
The new building paves the way for the interior of TP1 to be updated over the next two years. This will provide dedicated, modern teaching facilities so that students can benefit from improved access and a better learning environment.
Community engagement
Our Tavistock Place buildings are in a more residential area than Keppel Street, with people living in homes next to and surrounding them. Therefore the work to transform the site has been planned and carried out in close collaboration with community representatives. This continues to be of great importance as we move to the next phase of works.
Find out more in this blog reflecting on many years of community engagement: Community engagement - why it matters.
Keppel Street
Work is continuing to sensitively refurbish and modernise parts of our art deco building at Keppel Street, including upgrades to laboratories and social space used by staff and students.
Activities across the sites will complement and enhance each other to maximise real-world impact. Through research excellence, global reach and impact, LSHTM will continue to work with partners around the world to find solutions to the most important challenges in health and to train the future generation of health leaders.