King’s College London (KCL) will be closing the seventh and eighth floors of Bush House South East Wing (BH SE) on 6 February, KCL Student Union (KCLSU) posters on the 7th Floor announced today. Activity rooms will remain open.
A KCLSU officer told Roar that as things stand, the closure is permanent. There is currently no information on what would happen with the closed space.
“These moves are one of the ways King’s is investing in our campuses to support the student and staff experience,” state the posters.
There are approximately 100 study spaces on Floor 7 and a further 100 spaces for relaxation on Floor 8, also called The Meadow.
“It’s heartbreaking and shocking that this place is closing!”, said third-year students Laura and Alexia. “We have really gotten used to working here, made it our space and just to hear that it’s closing so suddenly is not okay”, added Alexia.
The posters have been put up two weeks before the closure.
KCLSU to Move
The KCLSU hub, as well as the Union’s offices, will be moving to the King’s Building, rooms K0.28 and K0.30, opening their new office on Monday, 24 February. These rooms have been under renovation since October 2024.
The KCLSU student hub on Floor 7 will be closed from 17 February while the hub on the ground floor in BH SE will have an extended working schedule until the end of the academic year.
Accommodation of Student Needs
The notice includes a list of alternative study spaces:
- The Exchange, Street Level, Bush House North East (NE) Wing
- The Arcade, Ground Floor, Bush HouseCentral Block
- Student Informal Study Area K2.20, King’s Building
- Chapters Restaurant, Second Floor, King’s Building
- Large Somerset Room, K2.22, King’s Building
“Work is also happening to identify any additional spaces which could be used for informal learning”, says the notice.
The seventh floor of BH SE is one of the most popular study spaces due to the flexible use of space and numerous charging sockets.
The eighth floor, The Meadow, is a popular informal student space where students can sit on the green carpet, resembling a real meadow, and chat while enjoying the views over London. In the past, the KCLSU marketed it as a space “to chill out, meditate and de-stress”. At the time of writing, the KCLSU page for The Meadow has been taken down.
Both floors are equipped with microwaves and kitchenettes. According to the notice, here are the spaces students will still be able to find microwaves:
- The Shack, Bush House SEW, ground floor
- The River Terrace Cafe, Macadam Building, ground floor
- King’s Kitchen, Bush House SEW, level -1
- Rolls Cafe, Maughan Library, lower ground floor
The Exchange and the Arcade, previously art exhibition spaces, have now been remade into informal study spaces. The Arcade can be accessed without a student ID.
Roar has reached out to KCL for comment. It remains to be seen what will happen to the top two floors of BH SE.
