McLaren House Halls of Residence at 1 St George's Circus, Southwark were officially opened in May 1994 and named after Christopher McLaren, the then Chancellor. The building stands on the site of the former Royal Eye Hospital.
Ingall House was built around 1870 and in 1950 became the first halls of residence used by the National College of Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering to house in dormitories up to thirty teenage recruits on full-time courses. It was named after Dr Douglas Ingall, the first Director of the National College and was located at 8 Dulwich Wood Park. The building was included in the merger that formed the Polytechnic of the South Bank in 1970s and continued to provide student accommodation, though it was altered to provide 28 study bedrooms instead of the original 44. In the early 1990s the Polytechnic (now South Bank University) devised a new accommodation strategy whereby all halls of residence would be within walking distance of the Southwark campus. Consequently the University terminated the lease on Ingall House.
The hall of residence at 282-302 Borough High Street was built between June 1999 and September 2000 and was named after David Bomberg who taught Art at the Borough Polytechnic from 1945-1953 and is today recognised as one of the most notable British painters of the twentieth century.
London Road building was officially opened in 1975 and housed the Polytechnic's library and Business School. The building was designed for the Westminster College by John Weller under Peter Jones (GLC Education Architect) and was built on the site of the former Old Queen's Head pub at 117 London Road. The building is still in use and houses offices, lecture theatres, gymnasium and sports hall. The library was also housed in London Road until it transferred to the Perry Library, originally the Centenary Library, in 1993.
The buildings at 113-119 Borough Road and 123-132 London Road were commonly known as the Terraces and were built c.1820. The University purchased the buildings along with the former Duke of Clarence pub at 132 London Road in 1997. These buildings were given Grade II listed status in 2000. In 2011 work began on redeveloping the Terraces and pub, with work being done by the Rivington Street Studio (Hawkins/Brown). The buildings reopened as the Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation in Autumn 2013. Awards for the building include: Winner of the RICS 2015 Award for Regeneration, Civic Trust Commendation 2014, New London Awards 2014 Commendation, Highly Commended for the AJ Retrofit Awards 2014, Shortlisted for the RIBA Awards 2014.
The Centre provides office space to small business alongside retail space, event and exhibition space and meeting rooms. The Centre is also home to the University's Enterprise team.
Caxton House at 13-16 Borough Road was built in the 1920s for printing union NATSOPA by E J Williams Architects of Leicester and later used by SOGAT 81. The building was purchased by South Bank Polytechnic in 1988 to house students and staff from Rachel McMillan College. In 1992 it housed the Administration Department of the Polytechnic, including the Vice-Chancellor and later housed the University's staff from the Centre for Learning Support & Development, including the Careers Centre. It currently houses staff from the Confucius Institute, following a 2015 refurbishment carried out by Rivington Street Studio.
South Bank Techopark at 90 London Road, Southwark was conceived, named and completed due to the former Director of South Bank Polytechnic (now LSBU), Dr John Beishon. It was the first technology centre of its kind to be developed by a Polytechnic and was funded by the private sector. Original finance came from the Sainsbury Foundation and Department of Trade & Industry in 1980 and later was financed by the Prudential Assurance Company to the sum of £7 million. Work began in the early 1980s and the Mayor and Mayoress of Southwark were invited to bury a time capsule to mark the beginning of work.
The first phase was opened 9 December 1985 by Geoffrey Pattie M.P. Minister of State for Industry & Information Technology. South Bank Technopark Phase II was opened 30th September 1987 by the Rt Hon Lord Young of Gaffham, Secretary of State for Trade & Industry. The building is still in use by London South Bank University and an Admissions & Recruitment Centre was opened in it on 4 October 2007 by Lord David Triesman of Tottenham, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Intellectual Property & Quality.
The Perry Library at 250 Southwark Bridge Road, Southwark was formed from the refurbishment of the Kiers Building, part of the Ake Larssen Development. Prior to that in 1988 the site yielded interesting pre-and post-Roman remains. The Kiers Building was purchased by the Polytechnic in 1991 and opened to students in September 1992, though it was not officially opened until July 1993. It was first called the Centenary Library to mark the Polytechnic's 100th anniversary and was renamed in honour of Pauline Perry, South Bank University's first Vice Chancellor and former Director of South Bank Polytechnic.
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.
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.
Wandsworth Road building was purpose-built to house South Bank Polytechnic's Faculty of the Built Environment and Vauxhall College of Further Education. The foundation stone was laid in 1970 and the buildings were in use by 1973, although was not officially opened until 1975. In 2003 the building was sold and has since been converted to private residential flats.
The Tower Block, Metal Block, Extension Block and Joseph Lancaster Block at 103 Borough Road, Southwark were officially opened on 9 July 1969 by the Duke of Edinburgh. The buildings were designed by Norman & Dawbarn Architects who also designed the Polytechnic's Turney Road sports pavilion and the BBC Television Centre at Shepherds Bush.
The Tower Restaurant opened in 1990 and was situated on the third floor of Tower Block. The Students Refectory was located on the second floor of Tower Block.
Cliff Holden was made an Honorary Doctors of Letters of the University in 2006
Miles Peter Richmond attended art classes at the Borough Polytechnic Institute following the Second World War and was taught by David Bomberg. He was a founder member of the Borough Group of artists. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the University in 2000.
On 20th February 1930 the Duke of York (the future George VI) visited the Borough Polytechnic Institute to official open new buildings within Borough Road Building and unveil its new facade.
As part of the Duke of York's official opening of the remodelled Borough Road building he toured the classrooms and laboratories of the Polytechnic. The girls Trade Cookery School made a Geonese layer cake for his daughter Elizabeth in the shape of a doll. The crinoline part of the cake was composed of over 2000 iced rose petals and the cake was presented by Miss Patricia Symonds, aged 15.
Sir Terence was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Sciences of the University in 2007.
Sir Terence Conran CH RDI FCSD was an English designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. Conran's first professional work came when he worked in the Festival of Britain (1951) on the main South Bank site. He left college to take up a job with Dennis Lennon's architectural company, which had been commissioned to make a 1/4-scale interior of a Princess Flying Boat. Conran started his own design practice in 1956 with the Summa furniture range and designing a shop for Mary Quant.
In 1964, he opened the first Habitat shop in Chelsea, London with his then wife Caroline Herbert, focusing on housewares and furniture in contemporary designs. Habitat grew into a large chain, the first retailer to bring such designs to a mass audience. Conran had a major role in the regeneration in the early 1990s of the Shad Thames area of London next to Tower Bridge that includes the Design Museum, which he founded in 1989.