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Investing in our student and staff experience

Artist impression of King's students walking and sitting in spacious indoor space

We are passionate about our people and committed to improving the student experience, creating a thriving staff community and supporting colleagues to deliver world leading and impactful research. As the way we work, learn, research and socialise has evolved, we are working to create an environment for our students and staff to support their success and at the same time improve our environmental performance.

Already we are bringing together world-class research and development expertise across academia, the NHS and the MedTech industry with the development of the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE) on our St Thomas’ campus. Similarly, leading clinicians, scientists and educators will be able to work side-by side to translate research into practical treatments for young people in the Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People on our Denmark Hill campus. The Pears Maudsley Centre is due to open in 2025.

The next phase is to focus on our Strand and Waterloo campuses, which are home to most of our students.

A Student Hub on the Strand

When we bought Bush House South West Wing (BHSWW ) in 2022 we saw its potential for a fantastic learning hub for our students. A place designed specifically for people to come together for teaching and events. It’s early days and we’re talking to students and staff as we develop the plans.

We are really excited about the proposed plans for The King’s Agora which has been designed specifically for learning and discussions with a 360-degree screen setup that will bring people together wherever they are in the world. It’s going to take a significant amount of re-development and there are a lot of necessary planning and approval processes to get through. This will be our most sustainable building and if all goes to plan, we hope to open the doors in September 2027.

King’s Interdisciplinary Science (KIS)

This is our major investment programme to supercharge science, our students and staff will enjoy enhanced learning and research opportunities through state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities. This initiative fosters a vibrant community where collaboration can thrive, bringing together diverse disciplines across the University. As part of this we are excited to be upgrading our teaching and research spaces on the Strand and Waterloo campuses, which includes:

  • New teaching labs in the Franklin-Wilkins Building (FWB) and teaching space in the James Clerk Maxwell Building (JCMB)
  • Development of new NMES Physics labs in the Strand building
  • Development of new NMES Chemistry labs, teaching and office space in FWB
  • Refurbishment and consolidation of FoLSM space in FWB and the St Thomas’ Lambeth Wing.

Moving out of Virginia Woolf Building (VWB)

Our lease on VWB comes to an end in autumn 2025 which means moving students and staff out of the building. It’s also a chance to rethink how we use our spaces on the Strand and Waterloo campuses.

Moving around 700 colleagues from three faculties, Arts & Humanities, Social Science & Public Policy and Law, and five professional services areas, to alternative locations will take time.

We’re working closely with the faculties and departments and consulting with them to provide the best possible teaching, learning and working space for them in alternative locations. We’ll do our best to keep disruption to a minimum as work gets underway to refurbish space in eight of our buildings:

  • James Clark Maxwell Building (JCMB)
  • Bush House South East and North West Wings
  • Melbourne House
  • King’s Building
  • Maughan Library
  • Somerset House East Wing
  • Strand Building

These three priority projects form part of our Campus Futures Programme. Each project is at a different stage and we’ll keep you updated as plans progress.