University of Nottingham Jubilee Campus extension, Nottingham
- Client: The University of Nottingham
- Principal designer: Make Architects
- Structural engineer: Adams Kara Taylor
- Services engineer: Faber Maunsell
- Principal contractor: Rok Sol
- Contract value: £22.5 million
About the project
Three new landmark buildings and a striking new piece of public art create a gateway and a strong new identity for the campus, emphasising the university’s modernity and sustainability.
International House and the Amenities Building, which contain teaching and administrative facilities, are wedge-shaped and appear to emerge from the ground. They are clad in large terracotta panels, each individually manufactured for size and colour. The Sir Colin Campbell Building is a new ‘front door’ to the campus. Its complex geometry required thousands of zinc shingles to be laser cut.
Exemplary standards of energy efficiency have been achieved by, for example, geothermal heating and cooling, minimal glazing, a sophisticated air displacement system, and 1.5 metre diameter sun pipes that bring in natural light without solar heat gain or loss. Rainwater is channelled into gravel beds and fed back into the campus lake.
Aspire, a spectacular 60 metre-high artwork, is the centrepiece. It is the tallest sculpture in the UK and was installed to mark the university’s 60th anniversary and has already become an icon for the city as well as the university.
Judges' comment
"A series of bravura buildings gives the university campus a fresh identity."
