Estates on Tour: inside 20 Bedford Way

What is “Estates on Tour”?  

Estates on Tour is a new series of visits that brings the Estates team with users in a coordinated and aligned way to hear their experiences. This builds on how we already listen and receive feedback through CampusVibe to create an even better campus.  

These visits are about listening, learning, and building connections across UCL: walking the spaces, hearing directly from staff and students, identifying opportunities to improve, as well as explaining what is already planned.  

We are keen to continue building on these conversations through future visits, and welcome the chance to hear from other teams. 

Visit to 20 Bedford Way 

Our first visit took us to 20 Bedford Way, a Grade-II listed building and a central hub for teaching and social activity. Home to the UCL Institute of Education, IOE Library and Institute Bar, it can welcome up to 3,000 students at one time.  

Accompanied by Rebecca Bashan, Head of Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science (LCCOS), and Sarah Aitchison, Director of Special Collections, the first stop was the recently refurbished library, a space which many students consider a hidden gem.  

During exam season, all 636 study seats are typically fully occupied, highlighting both the popularity of the space and the importance of ensuring it remains comfortable, accessible and fit for purpose throughout the year. While the refurbishment has been well received, colleagues spoke openly about ongoing challenges, including difficulties in keeping the library a comfortable temperature on warm days and ensuring facilities keep pace with building capacity. 

Making use of better space 

The lower floors of 20 Bedford Way contain dedicated storage for rare books and archives to support teaching, research, and community engagement. However, most rare of the materials are currently stored across multiple locations and in spaces that were not originally designed for long-term archive storage. Challenges around temperature control, leaks, and flooding risks can make it difficult to provide the conditions these special collections require. 

This creates operational challenges and increases the risks associated with transporting valuable materials between sites. It also points to a wider opportunity: making better use of better space. This is a core theme of our Estates Strategy, which commits us to investing in denser, better-specified spaces that reduce fragmentation across departments and services. 

As Sarah Aitchinson, Director of Special Collections, stated, it is not simply about finding more space, it’s about finding the right spaces.  

"We want to do things properly from the beginning and find spaces that are suitable. I think quite often we're fixing something as a reaction. It would be quite nice to be a bit more strategic about it and sort of go, actually, we've got these requirements." 

Small changes with significant impact 

One of the most valuable parts of the visit was hearing directly from colleagues who know the building best. For Area Facilities Manager John Whitmore, who is onsite five days a week, understanding 20 Bedford Way means understanding how people actually experience it. 

The tour showcased several successes delivered through the IOE Masterplan. Redeveloped postgraduate research spaces on Level 8 have received positive feedback from students, while accessibility improvements such as perch seating are helping to make the building more inclusive.  

Small interventions have also made a significant difference: The new toilet roll dispensers which were introduced with accessibility and user experience in mind have reduced blocked toilets by around 70%, demonstrating how small interventions can make a significant difference. 

At the same time, the visit highlighted some of the remaining challenges. A recurring theme throughout the day was temperature control, with various areas of the building experiencing very different conditions throughout the year. The building operates on a single-pipe heating system that responds slowly to changes in demand. Following the winter break, for example, it took several days for the system to fully warm the building, generating significant feedback from occupants. 

As John explained, "Over 10 and below 21 degrees, you're fine. Other times, it's very challenging." 

Improvements are already underway. In partnership with the University of London and SOAS, UCL is decarbonising the Bloomsbury Heat and Power Network (BHPN), the shared district heating system that serves at 20 Bedford Way and other buildings in Bloomsbury.  

An early phase of the project includes introducing a new electric plant to replace the legacy gas and oil-fired system, to meet day to day heating demand at 20 Bedford Way. Aside from cutting carbon emissions, the upgrades will make heating more reliable and resilient, delivering more consistent temperatures, and creating a flexible system built to deliver long-term value. 

At the end of the visit, John reflected on the importance of the tour:  

"The engagement of senior management with day-to-day problems is essential. There can be an accidental disconnect between what's discussed strategically and what's implemented operationally…Tours like this help people understand what we need to do to make spaces more viable." 

Key takeaways 

• Investment is delivering impact: Refreshed study spaces, accessibility improvements including perch seats and new toilet dispensers are already improving the everyday experience for students and staff.   
• Better use of space: Special collections require tailored storage spaces, planned strategically. 
• Ageing infrastructure needs renewal: Heating, cooling and environmental controls, constrained by old systems and the building's single-pipe design affects user experience.  
• Listening on the ground: Hearing directly from the people who use and run the building is essential to setting the right priorities and targeting future investment where it matters most.