Education
Birkbeck University – Phase One
Enhancing Teaching Spaces for a New Academic Era
4 Floors
1 Phase
15,231 Sq Ft
The Brief
Birkbeck University challenged us to create focused, professional teaching environments within a 1950s office building that would appeal to their student body of largely mature students.
The Challenges
The outdated infrastructure presented a challenge along with the fact that this building had a non-educational layout. We also had to navigate around live occupancy throughout the build.
Our Solution
What we delivered are calm, grown-up classrooms and staff breakout areas, designed for comfort, accessibility and focus.
A Smarter Kind of Classroom
Birkbeck is a university like no other, serving primarily mature students who study part-time while working. When the institution set out to refurbish parts of its Malet Street campus, it wasn’t looking for bright, playful student spaces. It needed something more professional, more composed.
Phase One focused solely on classrooms and staff breakout areas, bringing key teaching environments up to date without compromising the calm, understated tone that defines the Birkbeck experience.
Built for Learning, Not Just Teaching
The classrooms were designed with focus and flexibility in mind. We used acoustic treatments, low-glare lighting, and warm, natural finishes to create spaces that support sustained attention without feeling corporate. Technology integration was clean and minimal, ensuring the rooms could flex between formats and remain easy to use.
Space for Staff to Recharge
We also introduced staff breakout areas, designed to give tutors and support teams a place to pause, prepare, and connect. These zones act as quiet buffers between teaching sessions supporting wellbeing and collaboration among Birkbeck’s academic staff.
Delivering Within Constraints
The building itself came with challenges: low ceilings, legacy MEP systems, and a disjointed layout across multiple floors.
We worked around partial occupancy and tight access constraints to complete the works with minimal disruption to university life, coordinating closely with the client team at every stage.
Looking Ahead
This phase forms part of a wider campus renewal strategy. A second phase focused on café, wellness, and social areas is currently underway and will be detailed in a separate case study, coming summer 2025.
Thinking about your own campus upgrade?
Talk to us about creating environments that reflect the real needs of your staff and students.