Formally the Public Records Office – ‘the strong box of the empire’ – Kings College acquired this massive Victorian gothic edifice with a view to rationalising their various London libraries onto one site near their Strand Campus.

Our concept was to break down the prison like internal planning to create a more spacious facility in which students would be welcome and which could be fitted out with modern services and computer facilities. The building was robust enough to take very contemporary interventions and following close co-operation with the City Corporation Planning Authority, English Heritage, and the Crown Estate it now accommodates 2,000 students, 1,250 intranet linked computer study spaces, a rare book collection and 37km of shelving all in a carefully controlled environment. Our conversion of the Grade II* listed building won the Mayor of London’s 2003 City Heritage Award.