Imperial College Campus Almost Complete

Imperial College Campus viewed from South of The Westway

The Imperial College Campus which has been slowly rising on Wood Lane, North of the Westway, is almost finished.

What is now clear is just how very undistinguished the architecture is. An opportunity to create a new and beautiful campus from scratch has been lost; what has been completed is an odd jumble of weird-looking buildings.

The site is dominated by the 34-storey ziggurat which towers over the Westway and was politely described by the Hammersmith Society as "controversial". "Very ugly" would be a better word for this weirdly asymmetrical building which now dominates views north from Shepherd's Bush and White City.

View from Wood Lane looking North

Missed Opportunity
It's yet another example in our neighbourhood of a missed opportunity to build something genuinely attractive. Imperial College had a blank canvas when they started planning their new £200m White City Campus north of the Westway.

Instead of creating something beautiful, their architects have put up bland and characterless high rise buildings. The site is brand new and shiny but it already manages to look dated.

"Iconic Landmark"

View from Wormwood Scrubs

According to contractors voreda.com "The Tower will deliver an iconic [how overused is the word "iconic" ?] landmark for Imperial College London White City Campus, demonstrating the presence of a world-leading institution. A third of the apartments are designated for College Key Workers and Imperial NHS staff. The concept of College Key Worker accommodation was an innovative introduction by Voreda, benefiting Imperial College London as a long term employer whilst providing a real solution to UK affordable housing."

Jobs and Investment

View from Wood Lane

No doubt Imperial College will bring plenty of new jobs and investment to the area - all of which is to be welcomed. It's just a shame they couldn't have made the place look attractive along the way. It surely couldn't have been that hard.

The Shepherd's Bush Blog offers a personal view on life in Shepherd's Bush.  If you would like to contribute a story about our neighbourhood, email us at shepherdsbushblog@gmail.com.