The UCL Institute of Education building on Bedford Way is one of Denys Lasdun's most rigorous works — a long horizontal slab of lecture theatres and seminar rooms stacked in interlocking section behind a continuous facade of exposed concrete and glass. Lasdun used the same 'strata' language here as in the National Theatre, though more austerely: the building reads as a pure section made vertical.
The street-facing facade is controlled and formal, each floor reading as a distinct concrete band, the glazing recessed behind the structure. The interiors follow the same logic: raw concrete walls and ceilings, natural light filtered through the structural frame. The building has aged well, its material consistency becoming more apparent and more valuable as surrounding buildings are replaced.