London School of Economics Student Accommodation

This project involved the restoration of a listed building built in 1878 as the Hotel Victoria occupied by the MOD for the last 60 years, retaining original features. The conversion was split into two stages, the first involved the creation of more than 250 bed student accommodation for LSE and the second objective was to create a Club QuartersTM hotel with over 200 bedrooms.

Elementa provided full mechanical, electrical & public health design, together with energy and sustainability strategies and options appraisals. The challenge was to integrate modern services in a commercially viable way. Across all elements of the project the client was keen to reduce energy wastage & future operating costs whilst keeping the cost of installation on-budget. Existing air-conditioning & ventilation systems were carefully reviewed & upgraded with modern technology as part of the new scheme.

This delivered a saving in embodied energy as well as in installation cost. Elementa’s design scheme also delivered a number of simple and practical energy reduction measures. These included: improved air tightness, use of the Whitehall district heating system & effective easy-to-use control systems throughout the building. These measures helped to deliver energy usage well below the benchmark for a hotel of this size.

Innovative solutions were developed in order to retain original features and install a mix of pod and on site fabricated bathrooms and risers to maximise lettable area. This development highlights Elementa’s practical approach to energy and sustainability, the outcome being an exemplary energy performing building.

Due to its nature and working with a grade 2* listed interior, the location, routing and distribution of services were key to the operational success of the project. It was necessary to work within some tight environmental constraints due to the restrictions of the site but by working with the Victorian ventilation design principles, a neat solution has been provided to give comfortable conditions with the least visual impact on the superb interior spaces and that only operates when required.