London Business School - Plowden Building, UK

In 2025 – PLACES: High Budget

ProjectLondon Business School - Plowden BuildingLocationLondon, UKLighting DesignHoare Lea, UKArchitectTODD Architects, UKInterior DesignTODD Architects, UKClientLondon Business SchoolLighting SuppliersDAL,Louis Poulsen, Optelma, Bega, Artemide, Lumino, iGuzzini, Zero Lighting, Astro Lighting,Lighting ControlSimmtronicPhotographyTODD & BW pro photos

Our brief for Plowden Hub was to create a brand new learning space within the heart of the London Business School’s Regent Park campus. Hoare Lea’s design was particularly driven by the principles of connectivity, sociability, and wellbeing in an area that had previously been sorely overlooked on the university’s grounds.

The building’s core repurposed an existing terraces complex, long past its due in both form and function; the interior was entirely gutted and modelled to create an open and fluid environment. What was previously an enclosed, unwelcoming cellular space had transformed into a connected set of communal study, canteen, lounges, counselling rooms, and a variety of other formal and information collaboration areas.

We focused on visual texture and comfort, with a nod to a more domestic look and feel to reinforce the deliberate move away from an ‘institutionalised’ experience. Luminaire choices focused on both the technical and aesthetic, providing low-glare and ambient sources to characterise the ideals of the project. Surface brightness was a particular point of focus, which had to balance bold colour choices while still creating a vibrant and varied user experience. Another challenge of the space was the accentuation of the large vertical volumes of space; balancing light pattern, location, and personality to ensure that core spaces didn’t have a gloomy or cavernous feeling. In addition, the specification of more decorative luminaires in strategic locations reinforced this more homely aesthetic, setting the Hub apart from other campuses in a competitive market.

Though it wasn’t a core expectation of the Client team, Hoare Lea emphasised specification of low-carbon and sustainable lighting solutions as part of the design process, with UK manufacturers providing the vast majority of the volume of luminaires. Ensuring kit-of-parts style luminaires were prioritised to reduce whole life emissions, as well as simplify maintenance, was key to creating a design that students and staff can enjoy for years to come.

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