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Discover the Clarence Centre at Open House London
London South Bank University is opening the Clarence Centre for Enterprise and Innovation for Open House London on Saturday 20 SeptemberLSBU will be hosting regular tours of this home for the local business community, described as a careful juxtaposition of the old and the new in terms of its architecture.
Having lain derelict for decades, the Grade II-listed Georgian terraces and a former pub at St George's Circus in Southwark were reopened in September 2013 as the Clarence Centre. It has succeeded in creating an entrepreneurial melting pot where businesses, start-up and established, benefit from networking and the cross-pollination of ideas.
The building is a significant contribution to the regeneration of the Elephant and Castle and has received several design awards including a Civic Trust Commendation in March 2014. Many of the building's original features, such as fireplaces, remain as a link to the building's heritage.
Student and graduate start-ups based at the Clarence Centre include BoxUp Crime, finalists in TeachFirst's Innovation Awards this year, social enterprise School Explained, and Collaborate – an enterprise focused on cross-sector collaboration in public services.
In addition to retail units, the centre is home to informal working areas including 'huddle' and 'brainstorm' rooms, events and exhibition spaces, and a landscaped garden.
Open House London is an annual not-for-profit event that takes place over a weekend in London, when the city's architecture is opened up to the public free of charge. Started in 1992, the concept has been so successful it has spread to nearly 20 cities worldwide.
The Clarence Centre will be running regular tours from 10am to 4pm.