The London Legacy Development Corporation has appointed fit-out specialist Portview to undertake works for University of the Arts London’s (UAL) new London College of Fashion (LCF) campus in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford.

The £24 million contract will see the London College of Fashion, UAL, move to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to create a cultural powerhouse alongside partners BBC, Sadlers Wells, UCL and V&A, creating a brand new destination for London with world-class culture and education at its heart. This ambitious project – known as East Bank – will unite all six of London College of Fashion’s sites for the first time in its 120 year history, creating an extraordinary new campus for over 6,500 students and staff, with state-of-the-art facilities including public open spaces, galleries, library and archives.

With a strong track-record for delivering the most iconic interiors in education, retail, hospitality, business and sport, Portview is renowned for being the go-to contractor for the world’s top brands, including some of the biggest names in the world of fashion such as Tiffany & Co., Oscar de la Renta, Issey Miyake, Chanel, Burberry, and Christian Louboutin.

The contract marks Portview’s second regeneration project in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, having completed all the hospitality areas of the West Stand in London Stadium, in 2016.

John McMahon, Contracts Director of Portview, said: “This is a hugely exciting project for us and we’re delighted to have been entrusted by the London Legacy team to deliver their vision of a world-class learning facility that will go on to nurture the very best talent in arts and culture.

“We recognise that this project is so much more than just bricks and mortar. It’s about building a cultural destination where people can come together to learn, work, socialise and thrive. It’s about building a legacy that provides opportunities for people to grow professionally and personally throughout the generations. That’s what makes this project so exciting and we can’t wait to bring this extraordinary vision, to life.”

Rosanna Lawes, Executive Director of Development at the London Legacy Development Corporation, said: “It’s great to welcome Portview back to the Park to work on East Bank, one of the largest culture and education projects in the world. We know they will us maintain the high standards of design, construction and sustainability already established on the Park in the London College of Fashion’s state-of-the-art building.”

Mark Farthing, Programme Director UAL, said: “We are very pleased to confirm the appointment of Portview as fit-out contractor for London College of Fashions new building at Stratford.  Portview’s portfolio of work speaks for itself when it comes to quality and an ‘eye for detail’. They have demonstrated a thorough understanding of our requirements throughout the tender process and we are very much looking forward to working with them on this exciting project.”

LCF’s new building will include:

  • A new campus for the College’s 6,500 staff and students
  • 36,000m2 of world leading fashion education and research activity
  • Multi-purpose lecture theatres for students as well as programmed community events
  • Public open spaces including galleries, interactive showcasing areas, foyer and café
  • Specialist teaching and learning spaces housing Fashion Business School, School of Media and Communication and School of Design and Technology
  • Enterprise activity, working within the College’s commitment to use fashion as a mechanism for social and economic change
  • Incubation, graduate and start-up support

Equipped with its own strategic framework, ‘ProZero™’, Portview has set new standards in fit-out excellence by championing innovation, creativity and quality to deliver its promise of “getting things right, first time every time” for clients, people and projects.  Driven by five core values – people. planet, process, prosperity and partnership – ProZero™ delivers a high level of sophistication, value and collaboration to projects that’s unrivalled by anyone else in the industry.

Having recently achieved the international environmental standard of BREEAM ‘excellent’ for its fit-out of Samsung KX in Kings Cross, Portview’s strong sustainability credentials will play an integral part in each stage of the UAL fit-out, from design; to health and wellbeing; energy and material usage.

Based in Belfast with projects across the UK, Portview is rated as one of the top ten employers in Northern Ireland, and has pledged to support the Stratford community by creating jobs, partnering with local charities, and engaging with neighbouring residents and community groups. In addition to being a Living Wage employer, Portview advocates several other charities including ‘The Woodland Trust’, ‘Women into Construction’, and mental health organisation, ‘Mates in Mind’, in its efforts to be a socially responsible employer.

Portview will start commencing fit-out works on site in May 2021.

For more information, visit www.portview.co.uk