UCLan student centre on course for 2021 completion
The £60m project to create a three-storey student centre and a civic square at UCLan is progressing with a 450-tonne steel frame for the building currently under construction.
Lead contractor Bowmer + Kirkland started work on the Hawkins\Brown-designed scheme in August 2019. Construction is expected to complete in early 2021.
The 80,000 sq ft student centre and the 90,000 sq ft square are part of the university’s £200m masterplan which was announced in February 2015.
Upon completion the student centre will provide a new reception area, informal learning spaces and a student wellbeing support centre.
Michael Ahern, UCLan’s chief information and infrastructure officer, said: “This is an exciting time for the project as we start to see the scale of the Student Centre and the skyline of the campus changing.
“We want to thank everyone, motorists, pedestrians and cyclists and businesses, for being patient while the work is ongoing. The long-term benefits of this major investment project will be worth it for many years to come.”
BDP is multidisciplinary design engineer, planning consultant and acoustics consultant for the project.
Projects already completed as part of the masterplan include the £35m Engineering Innovation Centre as well as the multi-faith centre, Oasis and the Social Spaces buildings.
Improvements to the highways and landscaping around the Adelphi Quarter are being carried out by Balfour Beatty.
I love how the proposal mark-up has the sky thick with clouds and the colours muted and dull. This is a proper reflection of the typical climate in Preston, too often you see applications with piercing blue skies and bright facades, when built-out they can look very different. Better to envision how a particular build is going to look in a realistic, accurate climactic setting, not trying to pretend it’ll be forever lit bright with an Almerian sun.
By Desseisor