LSE Library redevelopment, latest phase completed

Date posted: November 20, 2017

Since 2012 ArchitecturePLB have been working with the London School of Economics and Political Science to carry out a £12m rolling programme of improvements throughout their Library building. The latest phase, at the lower ground floor was completed before the new term in September and is already proving popular with students.

The scheme is part of a campus wide project to enhance student experience by offering a greater variety of study spaces. The Lower Ground Floor has been remodeled to create welcoming and flexible work space. The design team worked to ‘bring the outside in’, colours and materials were chosen to bring warmth and promote well-being. Laser cut acoustic panels separate the book stacks from the main study space and flexible modular seating allows for more informal working.

Other phases of the project span four floors and have included the Women’s Library Reading Room, climate controlled archive and public exhibition space for the library’s historic collections and ‘LSE LIFE’, a new academic, personal and professional development centre.