University College London, nearly 200 years old, consistently ranking among the top 10 universities in the world, and one of the biggest in the UK, is embarking on the largest expansion in its history – a projected 180,000 sq metres (or one and half Shards) of academic and living spaces. It is doing this on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, as part of East Bank, the grand plan to anchor the legacy of London 2012 with weighty institutions of culture and knowledge.
Marshgate, a 33,500 sq metres, £250m building for research and teaching, where students will start working later this month, is the first publicly accessible manifestation of this new world. It stands near an array of facilities for the V&A, the BBC and Sadler’s Wells in various stages of completion, and for the London College of Fashion, which will also open shortly. Next door to Marshgate is the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the twisty tower of red metal by Anish Kapoor, Cecil Balmond and Kathryn Findlay, and it’s close to the stadium where Mo Farah and Usain Bolt won their medals, now tenanted by West Ham United football club.
