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We went inside UCL’s new £67 million Student Centre so you can stay in bed

It cost £67.4 Million to build


UCL's new Student Centre opened its doors today after five years of planning and construction.

The new Student Centre cost £67.4 Million and will provide 1,004 new study spaces for students and 350 computers.

The centre will be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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The new Student Centre is the flagship building of UCL's 10 year Capital project which is set to invest £1.25 billion to refurbish and develop new buildings for UCL's expanding student population.

Vice Provost Anthony Smith explained that "from the outset [UCL] wanted this building to show [their] commitment in four areas: to our Students and their learning; to great design and construction; to sustainability and the environment; and to the public who can now find a way into UCL."

The new centre was designed around student feedback and has focused on providing three different types of study space; silent study space, group study rooms, and informal social learning spaces.

Other facilities in the Student centre include a cafe, showers and multi-faith and wellness rooms.

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The centre also houses all the of UCL student advisory services which have now been put together in one location in the Student Enquirers Centre on the first floor.

In addition to meeting Students needs UCL was very focused on making the Student Centre a sustainable building which they have successfully achieved with the Centre set to be the most sustainable building in Higher Education in the UK.

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Photo taken by Nicholas Hare Architects (c) Alan Williams Photography

The Student Centre also has a piece of artwork created by the Turner award winning artist Rachel Whiteread.

Rachel, the first women to win the Turner prize, went to the UCL's Slade School of Fine Art and has made a cast of a noticeboard which was hung in the school when she was a student.

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The Cast hangs in the reception area of the Centre and is the only piece of Rachel's artwork which can be viewed for free in London.

The next big project of the UCL Capital Project is UCL East which is set to create a campus for 4,000 students in the Startford Olympic Park.