£4.7 million
1,200m2
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
PMP Consulting
Rock Townsend
Integral Engineering
Mortimer Isaacs
London
September 2024
- Engineering Services Design
Shortlisted - Fit-out
AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards 2025
Designed in consultation with the LSHTM community, the Pumphandle Social provides a welcoming environment for staff, students and visitors to meet, relax or study in a more casual setting. Troup Bywaters + Anders LLP (TB+A) were appointed by The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) to deliver engineering services design for this newly refurbished, multi-use social space at their Keppel Street site.
The site is a Grade II listed Art Deco building in central London. It serves as LSHTM’s primary location, hosting research, teaching, events and academic support activities. The Pumphandle social space was designed to be the building’s central hub, easily accessible from the main entrance and teaching locations, with links to other social and student spaces on the ground floor.
A key priority for the client was that the space be multi-purpose and adaptable, supporting a range of activities from quiet study to informal gatherings and social events. To facilitate this, our approach included upgrades to building fabric, services, acoustics, lighting, and catering facilities.
Relocating the kitchen within the constraints of a listed building required significant coordination. All gas appliances were removed to support the client’s decarbonisation aims and replaced with induction and electrical equipment.
The lighting scheme was also completely redesigned to create various defined zones within the social area. The challenge was to support multiple uses including studying, socialising, and informal activities, each requiring different Lux levels and lighting types.
Key features of the design include:
- Catering area that also serves as a flexible social space for staff and students
- Retractable partitions for adaptable layouts
- Bespoke acoustics to reduce ambient noise, allowing for spaces to be shared
- Replacement of gas kitchen appliances with induction and electrical equipment
- Upgraded building fabric to support reconfiguration
- Replacement or renewal of building services to meet new demands and standards.
The Pumphandle Social now provides a refreshed, flexible, and comfortable space that better supports student life and informal use.
