UCL PEARL – Landscape

The P.E.A.R.L. Building in Dagenham, East London, is a pioneering research facility developed for UCL to explore how people experience and interact with their surroundings. Originally conceived by Penoyre and Prasad Architects, the project combines innovative research spaces with a carefully considered landscape that supports movement, wellbeing and community engagement.

The landscape design plays an important role in creating an accessible and welcoming setting for researchers, visitors and the wider community. Cycle routes, external gathering spaces and public realm improvements help connect people to the facility while encouraging interaction and collaboration.

Supporting UCL’s ambition to better understand how environments influence human behaviour, the external spaces complement the building’s research function by providing opportunities for movement, observation and engagement. Together, the landscape and architecture create a flexible environment that extends learning and collaboration beyond the building itself.

P.E.A.R.L. demonstrates how landscape can play an integral role in supporting research, collaboration and community engagement. The external environment has been carefully designed to complement the facility’s pioneering research function, creating welcoming spaces that encourage movement, interaction and informal gathering.

By meticulously coordinating and optimising each aspect of the project, the team created a setting that supports both world-leading research and public engagement. The result is a flexible and accessible environment that enhances user experience while providing long-term value for UCL, researchers and the wider community.

The landscape invites the community directly into this pioneering research environment, creating opportunities for people to engage with UCL’s work and participate in shaping future approaches to urban design. Pedestrian routes, cycle access and external gathering spaces help connect the facility to its wider context while encouraging interaction between researchers, visitors and the local community.

By supporting collaboration, accessibility and public participation, the landscape contributes to P.E.A.R.L.’s wider ambition of creating healthier, more inclusive and better-designed environments. Through research, testing and community engagement, the project is helping to inform how future streets, public spaces and infrastructure can better respond to the needs of the people who use them.

Sustainability is embedded throughout P.E.A.R.L.’s design, shaping both the building and its surrounding landscape. The project promotes active travel through cycle access and pedestrian-friendly routes, encouraging low-carbon movement while creating a welcoming and accessible environment for researchers, visitors and the local community.

Alongside the building’s highly efficient energy strategy, the landscape contributes to the project’s long-term sustainability by supporting wellbeing, encouraging social interaction and creating adaptable external spaces that can evolve alongside future research needs. Together, these elements help deliver a resilient, future-focused environment that aligns with UCL’s ambitious environmental goals.