Bankside House replacement to include nearly 2,000 student beds in three towers up to 28 storeys in height

Sheppard Robson and Carmody Groarke have been given planning by Southwark council for a 2,000-bed student accommodation scheme behind Tate Modern.

The £400m Bankside House scheme in Southwark has been designed for the London School of Economics (LSE) and developer Equitix.

It 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.

The redevelopment 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.

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 is the lead consultant and have responsibility for technical design and coordination and have led on the student bedroom floors and room layouts.

Carmody Groarke is focused on the lower levels of the building and the envelope, including the pavilions, which house student amenity and community spaces.

The project team also includes AKT II on structures and civils and Montagu Evans on planning.

Main contractor Bouygues is scheduled to start construction work next year and finish in time for the student intake of September 2032.

Bouygues said that it will now progress detailed construction planning work, including its gateway 2 submission.