London College of Communication, University of the Arts London (UAL)

The London College of Communication – part of University of the Arts London (UAL) – seeks to transform the world by discovering new possibilities in creative communications, and it needed a building to match.

The college is moving to a new 12-storey building, part of the Elephant & Castle town centre development scheme, which will provide an inspirational, flexible environment for teaching, conference facilities, and exhibition and event spaces. On track to welcome its first intake of students in 2027, we are proud to have worked on the building’s stunning façade, which won Best Tall Building Façade Engineering Project at the 2025 Tall Buildings Awards.

Brand: Permasteelisa

Contractor: Multiplex

Architect: Allies & Morrison

The project

The concept

The inspiration for the façade’s horizontal and vertical masonry grid was the traditional wooden cases used to store printers’ letterpress type. The early decision to use Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) to create this proved highly successful from aesthetic, functional and sustainability perspectives.

What did we do?

Our designers and engineers carried out specialist research to develop the bespoke solution, which incorporates unique curtain wall detailing and a dynamic system to manage ventilation in the building. In total, we manufactured 15,700 sqm of unitised façade panels for the project.