Retrofit to Passivhaus standard for LSE heritage building

Can a 1950s university building become one of the UK's most sustainable higher education buildings? The London School of Economics believes it can. The ambitious transformation of 35 Lincoln's Inn Fields into the Firoz Lalji Global Hub, targeting Passivhaus Classic certification, demonstrates how deep retrofit can extend the life of existing buildings while dramatically reducing operational energy demand and retaining much of their embodied carbon.

LSE Firoz Lalji Global Hub. Image credit: David Chipperfield Architects

Large-scale retrofits to the Passivhaus standard remain relatively uncommon, particularly for complex higher education buildings in conservation areas. The David Chipperfield Architects designed project demonstrates how historic and post-war buildings can be adapted to meet demanding environmental performance standards while preserving their architectural character. Universities across the UK are increasingly adopting the Passivhaus standard for both new buildings and retrofit projects, including student accommodation, teaching buildings and research facilities.

Firoz Lalji, a businessman and former LSE student, donated £25 million to LSE to create the Global Hub, a state-of-the-art space for teaching, learning and community engagement at 35 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. The gift reflects a long-term investment in future generations of students and creates a new civic space designed to encourage collaboration and public engagement.

The existing 8-storey brick building sits in a sensitive location in the Strand Conservation Area. The proposal takes a radical approach to re-use and retains more than 60% of the existing structures. The two principal façades are also preserved and a light-weight timber structure extends the building by two storeys giving further prominence to the building.The project aims to be an exemplar in circular design and resource efficiency and targets BREEAM Outstanding, Passivhaus Classic certification and WELL Platinum, as well as exceeding London’s ambitious embodied and operational carbon, energy, water use, and biodiversity targets.

PHT Patron Max Fordham is Passivhaus Consultant for the project with PHT members Arup, BDP and Buro Happold acting as sustainability consultants, and Arup also delivering early stage M&E Design.

Key stats

Construction: CLT, glulam & existing masonry
GFA: 11,500 m²
Build start date: 2023
Expected completion: 2027
Certification: Aiming for Passivhaus Classic

LSE Firoz Lalji Global Hub. Image credit: LSE

Before

After

LSE Firoz Lalji Global Hub. BEFORE. Image credit: David Chipperfield Architects

LSE Firoz Lalji Global Hub. Image credit: David Chipperfield Architects

Retrofit techniques have advanced to the point where we can remodel 70-year-old buildings to create world-class spaces at the same time as minimising both the embodied carbon in a construction project and the future operational carbon emissions.

Darren Gill, Managing Director for London & South, McLaren Construction

Construction

Around 60% of the original building will be retained when the top three floors and roof plant enclosure are deconstructed and replaced by a lightweight cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam extension, taking the building from 9,856 m² to 11,848 m².

Section showing the retained building fabric (grey) and the new construction (black) at LSE Firoz Lalji Global Hub. Image credit: David Chipperfield Architects

The removal of an infill structure at the core of the building frees up the floor plan and creates a generous atrium, while a new ground floor and partial first floor slab will facilitate level access into the building. The 250-seat agora – a round, flexible, multi-purpose space occupies the centre of the building and is excavated out of the existing structure. An atrium will be located on the first floor directly above the central agora. This space is created through the removal of the structure at the centre of the block and its replacement with a new timber construction that incorporates circulation through an open staircase.

LSE Firoz Lalji Global Hub. Image credit: David Chipperfield Architects

This transformative project represents a major milestone in LSE’s ongoing commitment to innovation, sustainability and academic excellence. It sets out to redefine standards in building reuse and sustainable development, targeting high accreditations alongside ambitious embodied and operational carbon targets. This facility will not only serve our academic community but also stand as an exemplar in sustainable design and construction across the sector. This is more than a building, it’s a bold statement about the future of education, architecture and environmental responsibility.

Julian Robinson, Director of Estates, LSE

Embodied carbon

To minimise overall carbon emissions throughout the project's lifecycle and support the circular economy, the building is designed to be adaptable, flexible and deconstructable.

Strategies to reduce the embodied carbon footprint of the project include:

Re-evaluating material choices
Omitting unnecessary components
Integrating low-carbon alternatives wherever feasible

Materials salvaged for reuse include parquet and timber flooring, brass inlays from wall panelling, various lighting fixtures, ceramic tiles and rainwater hoppers and both internal and external brickwork. The team has also secured materials from other nearby sites for use on the project.

This is a tremendously exciting project to be involved with, supporting a world-class institution with a world-class brief. Passivhaus is being used for its strengths of high occupant comfort, low operational energy use, and high construction quality. It's also being complemented by a broader approach to sustainability, including embracing embodied carbon and circularity. Targeting Passivhaus Classic, we're looking forward to this retrofit project delivering the same performance one might expect of a new-build.

Gwilym Still, Director - Passivhaus, Max Fordham

This is a groundbreaking transformation project with the highest sustainability ambitions, that will achieve both embodied and operational Net Zero carbon standards and Passivhaus certification.The project pioneers an approach that we believe will soon become standard practice in how we transform our existing building stock for the future.

Alasdair Graham, Director, David Chipperfield Architects

Key team

Client: London School of Economics
Architect: David Chipperfield Architects
Passivhaus Consultant: Max Fordham
Contractor: McLaren Construction
Structural engineer: AKTII
M&E consultant: Arup (early stage)
Sustainability consultant: Arup, BDP, Buro Happold, Reusefully
Project management: 3PM
Landscape Architect: J&L Gibbons
Passivhaus Certifier: Passive House Institute

For more project team members click Data and credits button.

It's brilliant to see projects like the Firoz Lalji Global Hub that demonstrate how ambitious retrofit can combine heritage, circular economy principles and the Passivhaus standard to create buildings fit for future generations. Join us for the November for a detailed case study Masterclass to hear directly from the project team and explore the lessons learned from one of the UK's most ambitious Passivhaus retrofit projects.