In 1959 we took temporary residence in 25 Gordon Street. We're still here today, but UCL has changed significantly. Originally the plan was to build a Students' Union building where the new Student Centre is today, but we're happy where we are. Now it's time to seize the opportunity to turn our spaces across campus into places to be proud of.
Each year, more and more of you take part in activity run by our societies, play sport, socialise and spend time in our spaces. We want to make these spaces better for you, we want them to feel like a home from home. Places to do all the things you love doing at UCL.
The Union has spaces in the Bloomsbury Theatre building, the Lewis’s Building, 25 Gordon St., in the South Quad (Print Room Cafe) and at the Institute of Education and this project aims to make the most of these spaces.
- We’re moving lots of our staff teams together into a new office in 25 Gordon St., freeing up space in our other buildings (Lewis building floor 1 and 2, and the 1st floor of the Bloomsbury Theatre building) which we will turn into activity space for the 15,000 students involved in clubs and societies.
- We’re completely refurbishing Phineas; it’ll feel a bit bigger, be more comfortable and more suited to what it’s used for.
- We’re moving our Advice Service from the 1st Floor of the Bloomsbury building to a much better space on the 1st Floor of 25 Gordon St.
How it's happening
We've already started making improvements, opening a new bar at the Institute of Education and opening a new pizza place on the ground floor of 25 Gordon St.
From 4 April 2019, we'll start work on Phineas bar, the Advice Service and our new staff offices.
When this work is complete in August, we'll start work on transforming the Lewis's building and the 1st floor of the Bloomsbury Theatre building.
Below you can see 25 Gordon Street when it was a temporary hospital for injured seamen.
UCL students on the portico hold up the wooden Phineas statue which currently resides in Phineas bar and the Union games room, now the Haldane room in the North Cloister.
Above. We've chosen styles that reference the Victorian heritage of the building, whilst being contemporary and functional.
Below. This is a cut-away of the 25 Gordon Street building that currently houses our main reception, Stone Willy's Pizza, Gordon's Cafe, The Wolfson Study, Phineas and or staff offices. The project will turn floor four from our offices to teaching space for Maths, floor two from study space to offices and floor one from teaching space to our Advice Service.
