With the announcement of recent wins at Bournemouth University and the University of Glasgow, design and engineering consultancy Atkins has dramatically increased its presence in the higher education sector over the last six months. With major wins at leading universities across the UK, Atkins is now working on higher education projects totalling over £250m in construction value.
Philip Watson, Atkins UK design director, said: “These project wins are the result of significant investment in our people and into research and development of solutions to the design challenges facing higher education institutions. In a sector that demands clever thinking and solutions to complex challenges, we are showing that Atkins can punch its weight in architecture as well as engineering.”
Spearheaded by its Architectural design studio, Atkins is currently working on a portfolio of projects for Bournemouth University, including a new £22m landmark building to provide specialist facilities for two of the University’s internationally renowned Faculties, the Faculty of Media and Communication and the Faculty of Science and Technology. This project, won through a limited design competition, is known as the Poole Gateway Fusion Building. The Gateway Building will house state of the art facilities on a series of tiered floors, including: TV and Film Studios, Audio Editing, media production spaces, green screen and motion capture suites, as well as a suite of animation studios. It will also form a new visual gateway to the university’s Talbot Campus and its parkland setting, with high-quality landscaping reinforcing the entrance to the campus and the east-west link.
Atkins is also leading the design of a £40m academic building which will provide a new home for Bournemouth’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, and wider services to support the implementation of the University’s development masterplan including: space planning of existing buildings, landscaping, infrastructure (road and transport interchanges) and facilities management overview.
At the University of Glasgow, Atkins is working on the initial stages of a design for the new Health and Social Sciences building, bringing the University our expertise in designing for wellbeing, including the application of a new tool, WellbriefingTM, to help Glasgow create the healthiest environment for students, researchers, staff and visitors.
Atkins has also been appointed to a £23m scheme to design a new School of Architecture and the Built Environment at the University of Wolverhampton. The project is part of the University’s multi-million plans to transform the site of a former brewery into a centre of excellence for the Built Environment. Commissioned under the HCA (Homes and Communities Agency) framework, Atkins will provide the University of Wolverhampton with a multidisciplinary team including architects and civil and structural engineers, with Faithful + Gould providing project management and quantity surveying.
Atkins’ other work in the higher education sector includes the design of an Innovation Centre and Campus Hub at the University of Edinburgh’s Easterbush Campus.
Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies, employing some 18,000 people across the UK, North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe. We build long term trusted partnerships to create a world where lives are enriched through the implementation of our ideas. You can view Atkins’ recent projects on our website.