New College Durham
| Contact Details: | John Widdowson, Principal & Chief Executive, john.widdowson@newdur.ac.uk Lynn Bertram, Executive Support Manager, lynn.bertram@newdur.ac.uk Alan Race, Assistant Director IT and Purchasing, alan.race@newdur.ac.uk |
| Type of Project: | New Build on existing site. |
| Start/End Date: | Started work on site January 2003 with a year's design work previously. Build completed September 2005 |
Success Factors
What Makes The Space Successful?
The superstructure of the building makes it a highly flexible environment. Only 2 rooms on the campus have room dividers. Elsewhere there are a range of classrooms of different sizes and because everything hangs off a steel frame walls can be taken down and put up over a weekend. Some such changes have been made due to developments in the curriculum and pattern of student enrolment.
The overall build was very good value for money at less than £1k per m2.
What Is Innovative About The Design And The Use Of The Space?
New College Durham did not specifically set out to innovate in terms of building design - it set out to create a flexible learning and teaching environment. It has however been shortlisted for a design award, commended by the LSC for its approach to sustainability and has a very robust and up to date award winning technical infrastructure with highly integrated business applications.
