This addition to UCL’s existing New Engineering Building (NEB) gives the faculty a coherent response that allows for its complex and highly serviced research facilities in the historic Bloomsbury area.

One of two phases of expansion, this extension includes a new ten-storey building situated in a former courtyard to the rear of the NEB facing Malet Place. The response balances the demands for interdisciplinary use between the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Medical Physics and Computer Science, as well as forming a relation with the existing NEB.

Organised according to a 6 m grid, the design arranges facilities that benefit from natural daylight and views, such as seminar rooms, offices and general laboratories, around the perimeter.

Specialist spaces requiring little or no light include X-Ray and laser rooms, engine test cells and dark rooms, all of which are located centrally or in the basement.

The demanding service requirements for this specialised, multi-use building on a tight urban site are accommodated in the large plant room and loading bay at ground level.

Bridges linking the NEB and this project open to a 2 m wide corridor for common areas along the eastern façade. Clad with glazing and terracotta tiles, the building offers a permeable face to the pedestrianised street.