A unique hands-on experience in construction. During the one-week residential trips, students from LSBU and the University of Reading team up to build a scaled-down version of the Barcelona Transmission Tower – Torre de Collserola.
Your experience outside the classroom
Studying Civil Engineering at LSBU isn't just about the degree programme - London is your classroom! We take advantage of our location through a range of high-profile site visits, field trips and tours to help you contextualise your learning.Here's a snapshot of events that we have held over the past year or so:
Field Trips
Museum Trips
Serpentine Pavilion, London
In 2023, students went to see the Serpentine Pavilion – an annual event which has fast become a global cultural attraction. Each year, a renowned architect is invited to design and create their first structure in England, and 2023 featured the work of Mediterranean architect Lina Ghotmeh.
Site Tours
Design Museum: How to build a low carbon home, London
How can we design our homes to respond to the climate emergency? Students visited this exhibition to discover how architects are reimagining wood, stone and straw to design homes fit for the future.
Sky Garden, London
Students joined a tour of the City of London. They learnt about the design and construction of many notable buildings that form today’s skyline.
Site visits
76 Upper Ground (former IBM building), London
76 Southbank, the former home of IBM, features over 300,000 square feet of office space and is situated on the Thames. The Grade II listed commercial office building is being sensitively remodelled, refurbished and extended to transform it into a sustainable office space with extensive terracing overlooking the River Thames. Designed by AHMM, Multiplex will retain 80% of the existing structure, exemplifying low carbon office design and targeting BREEAM outstanding certification.
Elephant and Castle town centre, London
A multi-million pound town centre development. During this visit, students saw the different construction techniques used for the core walls due to the proximity of a railway line. They also saw the constraints from the London underground were tackled.
Heathrow Airport, London
Students were honoured to visit one of the busiest airports in the world. Its development was a true feat in engineering: tackling key challenges from chemicals to water, managing assets from runways to reservoirs. It was the perfect opportunity to see what civil engineering is, and students were inspired by the complexity and precision of operations.
HS2, London
During this private tour, students had the opportunity to witness the construction of the longest viaduct structure ever built while also protecting wildlife. Students also saw a live working tunnel boring machine.
One Leadenhall, London
The historical market is attached to a building that was demolished, posing a challenge for construction workers. Students gained insights into how this was done.
One Nine Elms, London
Students visited a luxury residential development in Nine Elms. It was constructed using modern prefabrication methods to speed up the process.
Oriel Hospital, London
A large development for a brand-new hospital building where Moorfield Eye Hospital will be relocated. It is a complex groundwork. Students learnt about the data and management of the logistics.
Norcliffe House, London
Development and project management specialist M3 Consulting showed students around Northcliffe House, the former headquarters of The Daily Mail newspaper. The building has a grade II listed facade that is completely retained, and has a reused foundation.
St Andrew the Apostle School, London
This is the UK’s first orthodox school funded by the council. Students saw the groundwork and the new steel frame construction for the sports hall.
Tide Bankside, London
A brand-new grade-A office in Bankside. It will be built to the highest sustainability standards, with the target of becoming a Net Zero Carbon building with a minimum BREEAM rating of Excellent.
Park Avenue, London
The Hill Group is delivering 94 high-quality, affordable homes in Southall in partnership with PA Housing. LSBU students met with the construction team and engineers behind the project and also learnt about summer internships/graduate positions.
Adelaide House, King William Street, London
Adelaide House is a Grade II listed office building in London's finance district. The building is undergoing a £72m refurbishment and LSBU students visited the construction site. From a design aspect, much of the 1920s art deco design will be retained in regards to bannisters, balustrades, light fittings, wall sconces, glass lifts and the Egyptian influenced design of the columns in the reception area.
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