Newcastle University is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive Universities and have been working to understand our world since 1834. The University continuously pushes the boundaries of knowledge through innovation and creativity. Ranked as a Global top 130 University, its research and teaching are world leading.
The latest addition to its Newcastle campus is the Stephenson Building which forms a gateway to the campus and brings multiple engineering disciplines together to create a collaborative world-class hub for excellence, research and industry partnerships. It offers exceptional learning spaces while being Net Zero Carbon in Operation, promoting equality, diversity & inclusion, wellbeing and safety, whilst tackling gender inequalities in engineering.
The 18,475sqm redeveloped building features world-leading research spaces, a student-run maker space, specialist, flexible, innovative and multi-purpose education areas and technical workshops. Combining contemporary design alongside a sensitively refurbished, modernised original frontage, the project has transformed an inward-focused, traditional academic building into an outward-facing and collaborative facility. A central social learning space enhances interaction and promotes an integrated engineering community within the building. The new glulam and CLT timber roof, along with the reduced external envelope, enhances energy efficiency and lowers embodied carbon.
The eye-catching building was used to develop a bespoke sustainability strategy with the University, aligned with RIBA and United Nations Sustainability Development Goals and will be an exemplar for future developments. The design brief emphasised visibility of the University’s operations to showcase engineering achievements. Passers-by can view ongoing engineering projects, celebrating the North East’s engineering legacy.
Three Winning Facts:
- One unified vision: a forward-thinking client, bringing together disparate engineering departments to create a beacon for world leading education, research and collaboration – empowering future engineers to innovate in a collaborative environment with flexible and innovative teaching spaces.
- Client-led vision for remodelling and redeveloping a key civic building: serving as a gateway to the campus and city, making engineering visible to inspire students, staff and engage the wider local community and future generations to tackle a multitude of complex global engineering problems.
- An integral part of the University’s decarbonisation strategy: the Biofuel CHP (combined heat and power) plant also decarbonises six existing buildings on campus to achieve a net zero carbon in-use development. It also makes a substantial impact on the University’s NZC 2030 target and creates a UK exemplar development.
