McLaren Takes the Lead on the £100 Million Passivhaus Retrofit at LSE

Proposed façade of the Firoz Lalji Global Hub, 35 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Image © David Chipperfield Architects.

London’s higher-education estate is about to gain a record-breaking green landmark. McLaren Construction has been selected by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to transform 35 Lincoln’s Inn Fields into the Firoz Lalji Global Hub, a project set to become the largest Passivhaus retrofit in the UK.

A Deep-Green Transformation

• Scope & Scale

  • Budget: £100 million

  • Existing floor area: 9,856 m² → Expanded to 11,848 m²

  • Completion target: 2027

• Design Vision

  • Architect: David Chipperfield Architects

  • New identity: A mixed-use academic hub for the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa plus flexible space for additional LSE departments.

• Key Sustainable Targets

  • Passivhaus certification (largest UK retrofit)

  • BREEAM Outstanding

  • WELL Platinum

  • “Green & blue” roofs with PV arrays

Delivery Team & Stakeholders

Role	Organisation
Client	London School of Economics & Political Science
Main Contractor	McLaren Construction
Lead Architect	David Chipperfield Architects
Sustainability/MEP	Buro Happold
Estates Lead	Julian Robinson (LSE)

Engineering the Retrofit

• Selective Demolition: Roughly 60% of the 1950s frame is retained, minimising embodied carbon while safeguarding London’s heritage streetscape.

• CLT Extension: The top three floors and roof plant are replaced by a lightweight cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure, adding area without heavy concrete loading.

• Atrium & Daylight Strategy: Removal of an infill core creates a central atrium, boosting daylight penetration, natural stack ventilation and collaborative study space.

• Envelope & Services: Triple-glazed windows, airtight membranes, high-performance insulation and heat-recovery ventilation drive Passivhaus performance. Photovoltaics on the roof offset operational energy, while rainwater is harvested for WC flushing and irrigation.

Logistics Snapshot

1. Urban Constraints: With a tight Holborn site, just-in-time deliveries and off-site prefabrication (CLT panels, MEP modules) will slash truck movements.

   
   

2. Carbon Accounting: McLaren and Buro Happold are using a whole-life-carbon tool to interrogate every material. Early swaps include low-carbon concrete, recycled-steel rebar and FSC-certified timber.

   
   

3. Stakeholder Engagement: Weekly town-hall sessions with LSE faculty and students ensure the building’s academic functionality evolves alongside the construction programme.

   
   
   
   

Career Windows & Live Links

Looking to join a flagship sustainability project?

• McLaren Construction – Sustainability Engineer, Site Planner, Project QS - Apply: mclarengroup.com/careers

• Buro Happold – Building Physics Consultant, MEP BIM Coordinator - Apply: burohappold.com/careers

• David Chipperfield Architects – Architectural Assistant (Passivhaus focus) - Apply: davidchipperfield.com/careers

• LSE Estates – Client-side Project Manager, Stakeholder Engagement Officer - Apply: lse.ac.uk/jobs

Why This Project Matters

The Firoz Lalji Global Hub is more than another campus upgrade, it is a live case study in deep-green retrofit, demonstrating how 70-year-old buildings can surpass modern sustainability benchmarks without sacrificing architectural ambition. For professionals, it offers a rare chance to work on:

• Passivhaus at scale in a retrofit context

• Hybrid CLT-concrete structural solutions

• BREEAM + WELL dual-certification

Expect this project to set the tone for London’s next decade of low-carbon redevelopment.