Bankside House replacement to include nearly 2,000 student beds in three towers up to 28 storeys in height
Carmody Groarke and Sheppard Robson have submitted plans for a 2,000-bed student accommodation scheme behind Tate Modern.
The two practices are part of a competition-winning design team which have been collaborating on the £400m Bankside House scheme in Southwark for the London School of Economics (LSE) and developer Equitix.
The development will include a total of 1,944 bed spaces, all of which will be at sub-market rents and 15% of them classed as affordable under the London Plan definition.
It will replace the site’s existing mid-century Bankside House with three stepped towers of 24, 26 and 28 storeys linked by two low-rise pavilions around a landscaped courtyard.
New images of the scheme unveiled in the planning submission show a trio of towers clad in white masonry and fronted by a large glazed entrance. The images show the timber-clad interior of the entrance lobby, which is topped by a series of skylights.
The proposals also include a public cafe run by LSE, an independent retail unit, an LSE-curated community hub and education space for Southwark council.
Sheppard Robson are the lead consultant and have responsibility for technical design and coordination, and have led on the student bedroom floors and room layouts. Carmody Groarke are focused on the lower levels of the building and the envelope, including the pavilions, which house student amenity and community spaces.
Carmody Groarke director Andy Groarke said the firm’s designs are conceived as “three houses that contribute to London’s river skyline while opening the site to the city, increasing porosity and strengthening the public space south of Tate Modern”.
“More than a residence, the architecture is designed to foster exchange, belonging and a genuine sense of home,” Groarke said.
Sheppard Robson partner Rupert Goddard added that the scheme was “an opportunity to rethink student housing at scale”.
“Every move, from daylighting the shared spaces to stepping the massing towards our streets, has been made to enrich the student experience while respecting the surrounding neighbourhood,” he said.
The two practices pipped RSHP and Tigg Coll, AHMM, Allies & Morrison, SOM and a team consisting of TP Bennett and Danish practice Cobe to win the design job in May last year.
A committee date for the planning application is expected early next year. The scheme is set to be built by main contractor Bouygues, with demolition of the existing building set to start in 2027 and the new scheme scheduled to open by September 2032.
The project team also includes AKT II on structures and civils and Montagu Evans on planning.
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