Work has started on site on the installation of two types of curtain walling from leading UK manufacturer Kawneer on Newcastle University’s new state-of-the-art teaching and learning building.
The £40 million scheme will provide teaching and learning facilities for Sport and Exercise Science, Human Nutrition and the School of Psychology as well as specialist facilities for the School of Medical Education.
The Kawneer AA®100 and AA®100 SSG (Structurally Silicone Glazed) curtain walling, both of which are mullion-drained and wrap the complete building, along with Kawneer AA®130 brise soleil will be installed over a 10-month period by Polar NE for main contractor Clugston Construction.
Located alongside the recently-completed Park View Student Village on Richardson Road and near to the existing medical school, the new facility represents the last phase of a £500 million investment in quality facilities which also includes a new sports centre.
The latest building will house a range of cutting-edge teaching and learning facilities to support various academic programmes. Seminar rooms and lecture theatres will be available for use by the wider university while the open-access building will also include specialist spaces and staff offices for the Schools of Psychology and Sport, Exercise and Nutritional Sciences.
The innovative building has been designed by GSSArchitecture to facilitate integrated research by promoting collaboration between disciplines through shared encounter spaces and the provision of social breakout areas. Research shows this approach to design supports the development of cross-disciplinary research and teaching, integrating both the physical and psychological aspects of exercise in relation to health and performance.
Procured using the North East Universities Major Capital Projects Framework, which was established in 2017, Clugston and GSSArchitecture have been involved in regular engagement sessions with the university and a group of stakeholders from the Faculty of Medical Sciences to understand the university’s requirements and capture their brief.
The new facilities have been driven by increasing student numbers for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and increasingly diverse undergraduate provision.
The building is due to open in January 2020.
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