De Montfort University Building
Named Best In The East Mids
DE MONTFORT University’s
(DMU) newest addition to
its Leicester campus – the
Vijay Patel building – has
been hailed as the best
educational building in the
East Midlands at the LABC
Awards (Local Authority
Building Control).
The £42 million centrepiece
to the university’s campus,
which is home to Leicester’s
art and design courses, beat
off stiff competition from
across the region and will
now be judged at a national
level to be in with the chance
of being named the best
educational building in the
UK.
“This is a huge honour and
we’re delighted to have been
recognised at such a high
level for the fantastic work
the teams have put into
creating such a spectacular
building,” said Nick Gregory,
director at CPMG Architects
– which designed the Vijay
Patel building.
A new six storey building
engages with the
redeveloped 11-storey tower
and CLASP (Consortium of
Local Authorities Special
Programme) buildings,
creating a stunning new
home for the art and design
faculty.
“We implemented a
tactical combination of
newly-built structures
and comprehensive
refurbishment which worked
together to really push
architectural boundaries.
A major feature of the
new building is a bespoke
‘floating’ staircase – which
has been nicknamed the
‘Harry Potter’ staircase by
students and staff.
“The new home of art and
design – which comprises a
mix of formal and informal
teaching spaces, workshops,
studios and shared atria – is
light and uncompromisingly
modern, creating an inspiring
space in which to teach and
learn,” added Nick.
Umesh Desai, the university’s
director of estates and
commercial services, said:
“It is fantastic for DMU, and
our partner CPMG, to be
recognised in this way. The
Vijay Patel building forms
a striking centrepiece to
our £136 million campus
transformation project.
It is stunning to look at
both inside and out and is
proving to be an inspirational
teaching and learning space
for our students and staff.
Work On New Head Office For British Sugar
To Start Onsite
WORK is set to begin on the new
UK head office for British Sugar
situated on a 4.5 acre site in Hampton,
Peterborough.
The building, which will also provide
global headquarter facilities for AB
Sugar and AB Mauri, will accommodate
up to 350 employees and is expected to
provide a state-of-the-art facility for the
companies’ activities into the future.
CPMG Architects has designed the
new premises with a strong focus
on workplace welfare and Bowmer
& Kirkland has been appointed as
the contractor for the purpose-built
commercial development.
Catharine Uglow, director of
organisational effectiveness at British
Sugar said: “This is an exciting time
for British Sugar. The new building will
feature a mix of formal and informal
working space and a café area
facilitating indoor and outdoor working/
social space. The building has been
designed to support our ambition for
improved light, air quality and flexible
space for colleagues to enjoy working
in.”
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