As we start the New Year we're delighted to share an update and a first look at our new Faculty of Social Sciences building.. This new home for the Faculty will improve learning for students through its new collaborative teaching and social spaces and offer a wide range of disciplines under the same roof for the first time. It will also include a research hub, bringing together cross-cutting research centres to address key global challenges.
The building has been designed by HLM Architects with sustainability at its core. Ground source heat pumps will be installed to maximise the opportunity created by thermal warmth, and provide cooling in the summer. New green space, which will be open to the public as well as students and staff, will be part of the development, providing an improved local environment.
Watch the flythrough video to see a bird's eye view of the exterior and some of the different spaces inside the building, including the light and airy atrium with light-flooding glass roof, new lecture theatres, open learning areas, cafe, and new state of the art specialist studios and journalism newsrooms.
The building is due to open in Spring 2023. Over the next few months we’ll be sharing more on how the building is beginning to take shape and explaining some of its key sustainability features. These include the BREEAM Outstanding Building Accreditation standards we're working to; the first use in education of ground source heat pumps; our efforts to ensure the building is zero carbon once opened; the new planting and green spaces which will improve local biodiversity; and the support of sustainable travel with cycle hub provision.