Projects

The BREEAM 'Excellent' rated infill building, Wohl Wolfson ToddlerLab in Torrington Square, is the world's first purpose-built centre dedicated to studying brain development in toddlers as they interact with their natural environment. It will build on the globally renowned research conducted in Birkbeck's BabyLab to advance our understanding of development not only in typically developing toddlers but in those with neurodevelopmental conditions like autism, ADHD, Fragile X, and Williams Syndrome. Researchers will be able to assess the efficacy of early interventions.

The ToddlerLab is tailored specifically to meet children's needs, with space to play, take part in activities, and even nap, facilitating the study of how sleep impacts on child development.

The ToddlerLab officially opened in 2020. It adjoins the existing Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at 32 Torrington Square. This project has been made possible thanks to generous donations from alumni, friends, and foundations including:

• The Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation
• The Wolfson Foundation
• The Garfield Weston Foundation
• Daniel and Elizabeth Peltz.

You can take a video tour of the ToddlerLab, and find out more on the ToddlerLab web pages.

Located at 373 Euston Road, the building formerly known as Cambridge House is a state-of-the-art teaching facility for Birkbeck, which was opened in 2021. It houses one of the College's largest lecture theatres and new classrooms, as well as a dedicated co-learning space where students can prepare for their lectures and share their ideas with one another.

The new building has a BREEAM 'Excellent' sustainability rating with features such as a green roof, a rainwater harvesting system, and a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, which converts sunlight into electricity. 

• Take a video tour of 373 Euston Road.

This project supports the move of central professional services staff to agile working, where the teams in the scope of the project have more freedom and flexibility over where they work and the ways in which they work to support service delivery. 

The project has provided modern working spaces, equipment, and assistance to enable staff to transition to agile working.

• Take a video tour of the Malet Street agile working space.

Birkbeck took over the University of London Union building in 2021. Over the last five years, our Estates team, working alongside Information Services and the AV team, have refurbished the teaching spaces to a high standard, with most teaching rooms here now offering HyFlex.

Our Catering team opened the Central Cafe in October 2025, which is on the ground floor and offers a range of light meals and barista drinks to staff, students, and visitors. As of June 2026, the Central Cafe is also open for evening meal service.

Also located on the ground floor is one of our new social spaces for students to relax between classes. This can be found next to the seating area for the Central Cafe.

In November 2025, Birkbeck was awarded £1.97m by the Office for Students to create a new Centre for Creative AI (CCAI). Work was completed in early 2026, and the new CCAI officially opened in summer 2026.

The CCAI, situated on the ground floor of the Birkbeck Central building, has been refurbished to sustainable standards and has achieved a SKA silver rating.

A refurbishment project at Gordon Square is underway, to be completed in summer 2026. This will accommodate the closure of our Russell Square building by increasing the amount of office space available at Gordon Square.

As part of the refurbishment, a full LED lighting replacement project has taken place, which is expected to significantly reduce the electricity demand for lighting throughout the site.

• Achieve at least BREEAM - Excellent, or an equivalent relevant standard, on any eligible new refurbishment or construction projects from 2026 onwards.
• Replace all lighting across the estate with energy-efficient LED lighting by the end of 2035.