Mayor of London unveils vision for LCF’s new home East Bank at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Today, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced the plans for his ‘East Bank’ vision at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, which will become home to a cluster of top universities, including LCF’s new building, cultural institutions, businesses and spaces for artistic, academic and civic activity for 2022.

UAL’s London College of Fashion building.

The press briefing today unveiled new plans and building designs at Stratford Waterfront for London College of Fashion, UAL, Sadler’s Wells, and the V&A including a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution. The building designs for Stratford Waterfront have been completely redesigned by architects Allies & Morrison and O’Donnell and Tuomey, following detailed public consultation, to develop a brand-new masterplan for the site. Public consultation on the new masterplan will open on Saturday 9 June.

Illustrative view of Stratford Waterfront looking north east towards International Quarter London from the F10 bridge.

What can we expect from LCF’s new building?

• A new campus for the College’s 6,500 staff and students
• 36,000m2 of world leading fashion education and research activity
• Multi-purpose lecture theatres for students as well as programmed community events
• Public open spaces including galleries, interactive showcasing areas, foyer and café
• Specialist teaching and learning spaces housing Fashion Business School, School of Media and Communication and School of Design and Technology
• Enterprise activity, working within the College’s commitment to use fashion as a mechanism for social and economic change
• Incubation, graduate and start-up support

Double height hub areas and an open central stair case will reveal the hive of activity taking place at different levels.

Key features

• Inspired by the nineteenth century mills, the building will appear straight forward and robust from the outside, whilst the inside will be home to a complex hive of activity
• Designed to be easily adaptable with spaces that suit the specific and contradictory needs of different schools within the college
• A semi-public route will be lined with views into work spaces, linking Carpenters Land Bridge to the waterfront, open for use during working hours
• Portico will create a sheltered public space and route, fronted by a double height public foyer and cafe

Portico space provides a sheltered route from Carpenters Land Bridge through the waterfront.

Additionally, the BBC will also become an LCF neighbour on the park, creating a new home for the world-renowned BBC symphony Orchestra & Chorus and BBC Singers, with a substantial presence from the BBC Concert Orchestra as well as state-of-the-art recording facilities to host recording sessions and live performances across all genres from global stars to emerging talent.

The Mayor also announced that at least 50% of new homes across the remaining development sites on the Park – Stratford Waterfront, Pudding Mill and Rick Roberts Way – will be affordable, in line with the Mayor’s commitment that all sites he disposes of will be at least 50% affordable.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:

“Great cities are defined by their ambition as much as their achievements – East Bank is the most ambitious new project of its kind for decades. I have made culture, innovation and growth a top priority, and as London’s centre of gravity has moved east, I’m delighted that we’re placing culture and education at the heart of this development and the Olympic legacy. My vision for East Bank is one where everyone, regardless of their background, can access world-class culture and education on their doorstep. East Bank is a fantastic collaboration of inter-disciplinary work and world-class institutions that will drive forward growth and inspire more young Londoners to take up creative careers, transforming the communities of east London.”

We caught up with Head of College, Professor Frances Corner at LCFBA18 exhibition to ask her about the importance of LCF’s move to ‘East Bank’ in 2022.

East Bank will build on the area’s existing creative credentials, and LCF alongside East Bank partners have been building relationships and delivering projects with the thriving arts and community organisations based in the area, including the artistic community in Hackney Wick, East London Dance, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Studio Wayne McGregor and many more.

As part of this ongoing programme of work, the partners will host Open Doors: Vote 100 at Here East on 22 July, the first day of free entertainment for the local community hosted jointly by all partners.