Infinite ideas for a net-zero future: LSBU opens the Infinite Shed
London South Bank University (LSBU) has opened the Infinite Shed, a new makerspace, research and demonstration facility created to help tackle one of the UK’s most urgent challenges: preparing homes, communities and the built environment for a net-zero future.
The Infinite Shed was officially opened by Mete Çoban, Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy, during an on-campus event that brought together students, staff, industry partners and community organisations. Supported by a £59,500 Skills for Londoners Capital Fund grant from the Mayor of London, the facility reflects LSBU Group’s wider civic mission to support London’s green transition and the skilled workforce it depends on.
Located in LSBU’s Clarence Centre courtyard, the Infinite Shed is intentionally modest in scale but ambitious in purpose. Designed as a low-cost, adaptable structure, it can be 'infinitely’ altered, rebuilt and reconfigured by students, researchers and external partners. Rather than locking learning into fixed equipment or layouts, the Shed can change as technologies change.
That flexibility is at the heart of the idea. As approaches to retrofit, heating, ventilation and energy systems evolve, so too does the space itself. Students and researchers can install, test, remove and refine real technologies, ensuring that learning and research stay closely aligned with current practice.
A living space for skills, research and real-world change
Decarbonising homes is one of the UK’s most complex challenges, with millions of properties needing retrofit over the coming decades and a growing shortage of skills across the construction and building services sector. The Shed has been created as a hands-on, project-based environment, where learners work directly with the systems and materials they will encounter in real buildings.
Students and apprentices from across the LSBU Group use the Shed to gain experience with insulation materials, ventilation strategies, heating systems and other low-carbon technologies.
The Shed forms part of the Group’s integrated learning pathways, spanning further education, technical training, apprenticeships, undergraduate and postgraduate study across its member institutions. It aligns closely with London South Bank Technical College, home to the Renewable Technologies Training Hub, which features EV charging, air source and ground source heat pumps, solar PV and solar thermal systems. Teaching in these spaces is shaped by employer partners including Kensa, Hemiko, Quantum and the Society of Public Health Engineers, helping ensure students develop skills that reflect current and emerging industry practice.
Inspired by this approach, the Infinite Shed provides continuity in learning resources for students progressing from college to university, reinforcing LSBU’s emphasis on applied education and smooth progression into professional practice.
The Shed also plays a central role in LSBU’s student-led Energy Advice Centre, where it is used to demonstrate retrofit and energy solutions to local residents and community groups. By seeing technologies in action, households are better able to understand their options, while students learn how to translate complex technical concepts into clear, practical advice.
Beyond education and community engagement, LSBU is developing the Infinite Shed as a collaboration and demonstration space for industry, including through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Local SMEs and entrepreneurs can use the space to trial emerging net-zero technologies in a realistic setting, without the challenges of testing in occupied buildings.
The Shed also strengthens LSBU’s applied research capability. Earlier this year, the University signed a partnership with Wates Group, one of the UK’s largest family-owned construction, development and property services companies. The partnership will explore issues such as damp and mould, overheating, fabric performance in heritage buildings and long-term energy system behaviour. The Infinite Shed provides the practical space needed to test ideas, materials and systems.
Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Mete Çoban, said: “It was a pleasure to help open the Infinite Shed. Backed by funding from City Hall, this project is a brilliant example of helping turn London’s net zero ambitions into practical action on the ground.
“Reaching net zero isn’t just about setting targets – it’s about making sure Londoners have the skills, spaces and partnerships to turn those ambitions into real change across every neighbourhood in our city. By investing in green skills–from retrofit to clean energy–we’re building a workforce that’s ready to upgrade London’s homes at scale. This means creating good and secure jobs, cutting energy bills and ultimately ensuring that more Londoners can live in warmer, healthier homes.”
Professor Ben Lishman, Associate Dean for Students, College of Technology and Environment at LSBU, who leads the Shed project, added: “By combining adaptability, hands-on learning, applied research and community engagement, the Infinite Shed represents a different kind of university facility: one that is deliberately unfinished, designed to keep evolving as the technologies, skills and challenges shaping the UK’s net-zero future continue to change.”