皇家华人

Recently, you had the chance to share your experiences of studying, learning and working in our buildings. These insights will help shape the . As part of the Estates Strategy, our aim is to enhance the campus experience for everyone who works, studies and visits here.听It is our shared environment and the setting for our success.鈥�听

To truly celebrate and welcome our entire community, we must prioritise accessibility across our campus. It鈥檚 not enough to welcome students, staff and the local community through words alone; we must actively create a physically inclusive environment. This means updating the design of our estate, the use of our buildings and access routes to ensure UCL remains open to people with varying access needs.鈥�听

The first phase of these projects will start ahead of听2026, introducing听new initiatives focused on accessibility and sustainability. These changes will benefit students, staff, and visitors at 皇家华人 in听the main central spaces of UCL. Additionally, the improvements will support exceptional events and engagement opportunities, enhancing infrastructure and multi-functional areas. 听

They will include:听

• The Main Quad will undergo a significant transformation. We aim to preserve its history while ensuring functionality and accessibility. A new layout will provide multiple areas to allow for a variety of activities to take place at any one point, as well as creating new outdoor study and social areas. Level access will be created into all building entrances from the Quad, putting inclusivity at the heart of the project.听
• The Ground Floor of the Wilkins Building will be reimagined to create a vibrant community space to enhance campus life. Building on the Estates Strategy pillars of sustainability, inclusivity and student and staff welfare, alongside the overarching aim of better use of better space, the design will provide four multi-functional spaces off the newly renovated cloisters to be used for a variety of events, conferences and exhibitions.听
• The first phase of our Gordon Street project will launch in 2026. This involves a collaboration with Camden Council and aims to transform this thoroughfare into an outdoor environment that provides space for students, staff, and local residents to interact.听听

As part of the scope of work, several activities and spaces within the Wilkins Building and Quad area are being relocated to enable the project. This includes numerous offices, the Object-Based Learning Laboratory鈥�(OBLL), and the UCL Art Museum. The Bicentennial Estates鈥� Project Team have been working with stakeholders affected to understand their specific space needs and agree solutions.听

These works are due to take place between November 2024-January 2026. The spaces will be unavailable or accessible at various times throughout the works. The OBLL will be returned to service at the close of the building works in autumn 2025.鈥�听听

Long-term and permanent solutions for the UCL Art Museum are being considered as part of a feasibility study linked to the strategic relocation of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and Science Library. The Estates Masterplan team are working closely with LCCOS to understand their longer-term strategic ambitions, so that this can be considered in future estates planning. 听

Throughout the consultation so far, the Estates鈥� Project Team; alongside Burwell Architects (Quad and Wilkins spaces) and Nicholas Hare Architects (Gordon Street), and external project managers Gardiner and Theobald, have had regular contact with multiple stakeholders regarding the impact, as well as discussing users鈥� requirements for the final design. The Building to UCL鈥檚 200th Anniversary pop-up held in the cloisters provided valuable feedback that has helped lead further decision making, and we hope to repeat these once final designs can be shared.听

We recognise that the works are going to have a large-scale impact on regular operations that would normally take place in these central areas, and that there will be many questions as to how these will be managed. Please be reassured that the Estates鈥� Project Team is working hard to build a plan that minimises disruption and supports stakeholders. We plan to share further information as soon as we can regarding the timeline of works and mitigations that may be in place.鈥�鈥�听

We will provide more听information on the physical works as soon as possible. 听

Hannah Milner, Director Capital Programme, UCL Estates, comments 鈥淲orking with key stakeholders, the Estates Capital Development team are looking forward to kickstarting the first phase of physical refurbishments across UCL to achieve project delivery of the central spaces in time for the Bicentennial celebrations in 2026. Creating spaces with a multi-functional capacity for the community is a consistent driver for both UCL and the talented team delivering this ground-breaking project鈥�.

Slideshow of design visualisations

All images show examples of possible designs and not finalised designs.听Courtesy of Nicholas Burwell Architects.