UCL Laws delighted to celebrate Bentham House key handover milestone

23 February 2018

UCL Laws is celebrating one of the most important milestones in the three year redevelopment of Bentham House, as the keys to the building were handed back to the Faculty on Thursday 22 February 2018.

The handover of the keys consisted of a ceremonial passing back of the front door key for Bentham House from Raymond Gilroy, Gilbert Ash’s Construction Director, to Professor Piet Eeckhout, Dean of UCL Laws and Professor Dame Hazel Genn, Director of the UCL Centre for Access to Justice (CAJ) and Project Sponsor from the Faculty, in front of the architects, construction team and UCL Laws students.

This milestone is a rite of 'Practical Completion' which means that the control of Bentham House passes back to UCL Laws for furnishing ahead of the building reopening to staff and students during the Easter break. Bentham House’s key was first handed over to Gilbert Ash on 1 December 2015.

Students were invited to be an integral part of this milestone and had the chance to tour Bentham House to see how the building has been significantly expanded and improved during the project. Students have always been at the core of the project, with the redevelopment stemming from a need for more and better quality space for teaching, research and socialising.

Firoza Dodhi, UCL Laws LLM student and President of the Graduate Society, said:

'I was so thrilled to be able to visit the newly renovated Bentham House recently. The efforts of everyone involved has ensured an incredible final result! I began my LLB in the old Bentham House and felt a familiar sense of belonging as I walked through the halls.

This building continues to encapsulate character and ambition; the new space is bright, accessible and open. The balance between charm and convenience will allow students, Faculty and staff to interact - building the collegiate environment UCL Laws is recognized for.'

Image 1 L-R: Rodney Coalter (Gilbert Ash, Contracts Manager), Joe Kowalski (WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff, Project Manager), Valerie Cooper, (UCL Estates, Capital Projects Team Leader), Emeka Okorocha (WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff, Technical Project Director), Bob Wright (WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff, Project Director), Kevin Argent (UCL Estates, Director of Estates Development), Professor Dame Hazel Genn (UCL Laws, Project Sponsor, Bentham House Redevelopment), Chris Shore (UCL Estates, Project Officer, Assistant Director, Capital Projects), Professor Piet Eeckhout, (UCL Laws, Dean), Chris Tilley (UCL Laws, Project Director, Bentham House Redevelopment), Raymond Gilroy (Gilbert Ash, Construction Director), Paul Dornan (Gilbert Ash, Mechanical & Electrical Coordinator), Jana Bartak (Levitt Bernstein, Interior Designer), Firoza Dodhi (UCL Laws, LLM student and Graduate Society, President), Chris Foley (Gilbert Ash, Site Engineering Supervisor), Joe Devlin (Gilbert Ash, Site Manager), Jonathan Mann (Levitt Bernstein, Principal Project Architect)

Watch time lapses videos of Bentham House

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Transforming UCL

The redevelopment of Bentham House has been delivered by UCL Estates as part of Transforming UCL, the largest capital programme in the university’s history. Transforming UCL will see substantial investment of over £1.2 billion over a 10-year period to refurbish and develop some of UCL’s most iconic buildings whilst also bringing forward new world class buildings. Together these will enable and support the University’s continued growth.