Procurement process launched for new UCL Campus

UCL (University College London) and the London Legacy Development Corporation have launched two procurement opportunities for the new UCL East campus at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Part of the 'Olympicopolis' education and culture quarter, UCL East is being developed in partnership by UCL and the Legacy Corporation.

The two OJEU procurement processes are for the first phase of the new campus, comprising two development projects: Pool Street, which is a mixed-use academic and residential facility, and Marshgate, which comprises academic facilities and associated public realm.

The UCL-led procurement for the Pool Street development is seeking to appoint a multi-disciplinary design team for the new facility, comprising approximately 12,500m2 of university residential space, and 4,000m2 of academic space. The building will be located on a site south of the London Aquatics Centre and the appointed design team will be responsible for progressing the detailed design of the facility up to, and possibly beyond, the successful determination of the detailed planning application.

The second UCL-led procurement seeks a design team to develop detailed plans for the Marshgate development, comprising approximately 33,500m2 of academic space for UCL, public realm and associated infrastructure on land to the south of the ArcelorMittal Orbit, currently used as interim event space in the Park.

Welcoming this next stage, Adam Harman, Project Director for UCL East, said: "Today marks the start of the process to deliver a suite of exemplary buildings and spaces to transform academic innovation in East London in the same way that UCL's iconic Wilkins Building helped transform Bloomsbury in 1826. These two commissions will set the tone for a pioneering and accessible education hub that UCL will develop over the coming decades."

Rosanna Lawes, Executive Director of Development for the Legacy Corporation, said: "This is another major step forward in the ambitious Olympicopolis project and will help to cement our wider regeneration ambitions in and around the Park."

LDA Design has been appointed to develop the masterplan for UCL East and UCL is currently developing the academic content for the new campus, which will complement UCL's historic campus in Bloomsbury. The first phase of UCL East is expected to bring together cross-disciplinary expertise from the arts and humanities, engineering, design, culture and social sciences.