The Keyworth Centre was officially opened on 11 December 2003 by the Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP. As well as facilities for conferences and small events the Centre originally provided teaching space for the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences and was a centre of excellence for the university's media courses.
Diary House at 77-79 Borough Road, Southwark was a former printing works from the 1860s and 1930s and housed Letts printers. In 1991 South Bank Polytechnic leased the building for the newly incorporated South West London College. The building no longer forms part of the University's estates.
The Keyworth II or K2 building opened in 2009 and was designed by Grimshaw Architects. It housed the Faculty of Health and Social Care, the Department for Education, parts of the Department for Sport and Exercise Science and the Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings (CEREB). At the start of construction in 2007 a time capsule was buried on site including a local newspaper, coins dated 2007 and photographs and other materials from the faculties and departments which moved into K2.
The University's Passmore Centre building was designed by CJ Phipps and Arthur Blomfield Jackson and opened as a public library in 1899. It was original called the Passmore Edwards Library, having been paid for by John Passmore Edwards, a Victorian philanthropist. It was later known as the St. George the Martyr Library and after it became part of Southwark Council's network of libraries it was called the Borough Road Library. It was purchased by South Bank University and converted to a nursery in September 1993. The nursery closed in 2011. The Passmore Centre opened as a business skills and training hub designed to provide access for local people and businesses to high quality apprenticeships and other forms of employer-supported study on 28 November 2018.
The building is Grade II listed (building No. 470670, listed 17 September 1998 - Listing NGR: TQ3173879494) and constructed of red brick and terracotta with a pitched, tiled roof in the Art Nouveau style.
The Isobar was one of the Student Union venues on the ground floor or the George Overend Building on Keyworth Street.
Experimental bakery classes were first offered by the Polytechnic in 1894 to see if there was sufficient interest in the subject. The subsequent popularity of the classes led the Polytechnic to build a bakery 1898 and develop links with the National Association of Master Bakers and Confectioners, resulting in the creation of the National School of Bakery and Confectionary in 1899. In 1902 the Polytechnic built an extension to Borough Road Building to house new classroom and laboratories for the School.
In 1922 the School made the wedding cake offered to HRH Princess Mary by the National Association of Master Bakers and Confectioners, and in 1948 a christening cake was made for HRH Prince Charles. New buildings for the school were opened on 20th February 1930 by HRH the Duke of York. After the Second World War, the School offered the first course in the UK for Chocolate and Sugar Confectionery, which was also believed to be the first of its type in Europe. The National Bakery School celebrated its centenary in 1994 and its 125th anniversary in 2019.
Dr Vince Cable M.P gave his first keynote speech to Parliament about higher education as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills at London South Bank University. Prior to his speech he was given a tour of K2 by the Vice Chancellor Martin Earwicker and the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Science and the Built Environment, Rao Bhamidimarri.
Camila Batmanghelidjh, Christine Ace, David Lan and Joe Baden were made Honorary Fellows of the University, Lord Triesman was made an Honorary Doctor of Laws and Dr John White was made an Honorary Doctor of Science.
John Constable and Dame Kelly Holmes DBE were made Honorary Fellows of the University, Dame Sue Ion DBE was made an Honorary Doctor of Engineering, James Smith and Mee Ling Mg OBE were made Honorary Doctors of Science and Ann Chant was made and Honorary Doctos of Laws.
London South Bank University's Summer School is aimed at encouraging and inspiring participants to consider going into Higher Education. It is open to all comprehensive schools in London and provides the opportunity for school students to study academic subjects in a university environment and participant in a variety of activities.
The village fete was held on Keyworth Street with activities, games, performances and workshops.
Published by the Home of Office on behalf of the "Life in the United Kingdom" Advisory Group. This group was established in September 2002 with the remit to advise the Home Secretary on the method, conduct and implementation of a "Life in the United Kingdom" naturalisation test.
Cliff Holden was made an Honorary Doctors of Letters of the University in 2006