The Firoz Lalji Global Hub at the London School of Economics reached a major construction milestone with a topping-out ceremony on site at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
The project remodels the existing 1950s structure and extends it with two new timber storeys. Guests toured the construction site before gathering on the top floor under the new timber beams for speeches and the ceremonial signing of the structure.
Speakers included Firoz Lalji, the project’s principal donor; Larry Kramer, President and Vice-Chancellor of LSE; Darren Gill, Managing Director for London and the South at McLaren Construction; and Maria-Chiara Piccinelli, Associate Director and Laura Burley, Project Architect at David Chipperfield Architects.
Reflecting on the decision to retain and transform the existing building, Maria-Chiara Piccinelli said: “We did not take the easy option; we took what we believed was the right option – and, given the climate emergency, perhaps the only responsible one... More than 60% of the existing structure has been retained, not as a compromise, not as a restriction, but as a creative transformation: growing a new building out of the old.”
Set to complete in 2027, the building will house a 250-seat Agora, conference facilities, the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, Data Sciences facilities, and academic departments.