Transforming our Campus
22 March 2011
Exciting building projects are under way across the University estate. They will enhance our research, our teaching, the environment for students and staff, and the way we engage with the public. Read more:
Maindy Park
Maindy Park
Over the next two decades, an entirely new research-led campus will take shape on the 8.9 acre Maindy Park site. A series of new buildings will provide 60,000 square metres of space for interdisciplinary research teams in a pleasant landscaped environment.
The University has just received planning permission for the next building on the campus, to stand next to the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences. The design of the new building, by Nightingale Associates, will complement the existing School in its scale and will have its own unique and modern design. Much of the energy will come from photovoltaic cells on the roof, screened from view by a parapet wall. This power source will make the building extremely energy efficient and help the University reach the highest sustainability standards for the development.
Two of the University’s new interdisciplinary research institutes – the Neurosciences and Mental Health Research Institute and the Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute – will be among the new building’s occupants. Exhibition space on the ground floor will also allow the public to learn more about our work.
The University hopes to appoint contractors shortly and to start work on the site this spring. The building, costing approximately £30M, will be financed by capital funds earmarked for this particular project.
Professor Tim Wess, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Estates, said: "This new building will help regenerate an important part of our city centre, establishing world-class research teams to address issues which affect us all. We also see it as a community facility, allowing the public even greater access to our work.”
Cochrane Building
Healthcare’s new home
The University’s new flagship Cochrane Building is emerging as a striking new feature of the Heath Park campus. It will complement the nearby lecture theatre and IV Lounge as a suite of facilities for all healthcare students on the campus.
The Cochrane Building, designed by local firm Powell Dobson, will offer new dedicated facilities including a new inter-professional library covering three floors. Modern clinical skills and high-tech simulation centres will also be provided on the upper floors. New postgraduate teaching areas will also be housed in the new building, along with seminar space, wireless access to on-line services and student support services.
The new building will, in particular, offer the School of Medicine a ‘front door’ and meet most of the day-to-day needs of its students. It will also create a focal point for all health-related education on the campus. The close location of teaching and library facilities will encourage contact between the different healthcare disciplines and create new opportunities for interprofessional learning and future professional collaborations.
The new building, named after the Cardiff medical pioneer, Archie Cochrane, remains on track for opening in the 2011/12 academic session. Images of all stages of construction, carried out by Vinci Construction, are available at: www.flickr.com/photos/47798574@N05/.
Eye-catching new Biosciences extension
Visitors to the School of Biosciences will have been struck by the colourful extension now nearing completion on its south podium.
The £4m development is distinctive for its multi-coloured hexagonal façade, reflecting the School’s work in understanding the molecular structures of nature. The School will have an instantly-recognisable new main entrance, along with a spacious new foyer, refectory, seminar rooms and an administrative hub.
The building, designed by Rio Architects, will be student-focussed, offering easy access to all facilities. The extension will also free up space inside the building for further research and teaching developments.
Professor John Harwood, Deputy Director at the School of Biosciences, said: "This will be a very important development for the School which will significantly enhance the learning experience for all our undergraduate and postgraduate students. It will also provide an impressive entrance to one of the University's largest schools."
The two-storey extension has been designed to augment the surrounding architecture of the University and Cardiff’s civic centre. The School hopes to hold an official opening ceremony in the autumn.
Cardiff Business School's Postgraduate Centre
Cardiff Business School's Postgraduate Centre
Cardiff Business School is a leading centre for postgraduate business and management study, attracting high quality students from around the world.
The University is creating a new £10.6M Postgraduate Centre, offering resources and a student experience which will reflect the School’s world-leading standing.
The building will be next to the Julian Hodge Lecture Theatre and provide two new Harvard-style lecture theatres. It will house two seminar spaces, one with the capacity to seat 320 students. Students will also benefit from computer resources areas, equipped with the latest IT study facilities, a new and larger Trading Room, and a student workspace and common rooms.
The Guest Building behind the Aberconway Building will be demolished to provide a new car park, replacing all the lost spaces which the new Postgraduate Centre will occupy. This work will be carried out before construction of the Centre begins.
Professor George Boyne, Dean of the School, said: “This new development marks a new era for the School, creating capacity for us and improving on the quality of the student experience. We are excited by the opportunity that this affords us to develop in the future, building on the basis of our existing research excellence.”
The Estates Division is currently inviting tenders for the appointment of the design team. They hope to secure planning permission and put the project out to construction tender later this year, enabling work to start on the site in early 2012.
Brickyard site – possible new student accommodation
The University is investigating the possibilities of a new student residential building on the former brickyard site, near Tal-y-Bont North.
The five story block, costing around £6.5M, would offer accommodation for another 173 of the University’s students.
After completion of the initial feasibility study, Estates Division is commissioning a design team to enable the University to put the project out to tender in September. As with all Cardiff University construction projects, it will be built to the BREEAM ‘excellent’ standard for sustainability.
Enhancing our existing estate
As progress is made on all the new developments, the Estates Division is continually maintaining and refurbishing the University’s existing buildings.
This is no mean feat. At present the University estate totals some 420,000 square metres, consisting of 297 different buildings. Five of these – Main Building, the Bute and Glamorgan Buildings, Aberdare Hall and parts of Queens Buildings are listed – meaning they are of distinct historic and architectural interest.
At present, Estates’ Project section has five capital and 19 minor works projects under way, worth a total value of £70M. On top of that, the Maintenance Team is carrying out planned and reactive work around the whole estate, worth around £10M annually. In the course of one year, the Team will deal with around 15,000 jobs and 22,000 reactive ones. Of these, more than 2,000 are for replacement lightbulbs and lighting tubes.
The variety of work requires a wide range of talents. The Estates team includes architects, engineers, surveyors, builders, electricians, plumbers, mechanical fitters,
administrative staff and expertise in IT, Safety and sustainability.
