Nottingham based CPMG Architects has been appointed by De Montfort University (DMU) to deliver its ambitious vision to create a new complex at the heart of its Leicester campus.
The new Fletcher Complex will be an impressive new base for the Faculty of Art, Design and Humanities – with sector-leading teaching facilities that will help DMU to be one of the foremost providers of creative higher education in the UK.
The extensive plans will add extra break-out areas for students, utilise the university’s proximity to the River Soar, and significantly improve the existing Fletcher Tower. The proposals form a critical phase in DMU’s long-term plan, built around an ambitious vision to re-connect the city centre to the waterfront creating a series of linked public open spaces through the De Montfort campus.
CPMG previously worked with the university to build the Hugh Aston Building, which was completed in 2009 to provide a new base for the university’s business and law students. A year after it opened it won the ProCon ‘Large Scheme of the Year’ award and was one of six schemes in the running for the Leicester Mercury People’s Choice Award in 2012.
DMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Shellard said: “The exciting developments on our campus represent our continued focus on creating an unparalleled student experience. We were seeking an architect that could understand that vision and bring it to life. CPMG shares the creative ethos that defines DMU, and it was therefore no surprise that their bold and innovative designs for our new Fletcher complex are precisely what the university had envisioned.
The Fletcher complex and its attendant green lung will be the centrepiece of our £90million campus investment, and will be a building and open space that will perfectly marry aesthetics with function. It will provide an inspiring place to work and a relaxing space to meet with friends and colleagues – everything a 21st century university such as DMU should be.”
The design by CPMG focuses on visual vibrancy, creating a refreshing and dynamic environment. Features will include:
• Atrium spaces with open galleries to maximise views between floors and between departmental areas, contributing to a sense of identity and promoting inter disciplinary collaboration.
• Large scale display cases integrated within the architectural design to ensure an ever-changing display of students’ three-dimensional work, animates routes within the building.
• Digital internal and external displays to provide a platform for the students working in digital art.
• Sculpture podiums and catwalks to provide an external forum for exhibition.
CPMG Director Nick Gregory added: “This is an exciting and demanding project, and our team at CPMG, relishes the opportunity to create an inspirational solution for the staff and students of De Montfort University.
“With a clear focus on contemporary architecture and landscape, the University have already achieved a huge transformation with the realisation of the Hugh Aston Building for Business and Law and we were fortunate to be involved in this project. Now to be able to help continue DMU’s development of its first-class facilities is a truly exciting prospect.”
In addition to appointing an architect, DMU has commissioned MACE Ltd to provide project management; Pick Everard to provide mechanical & electrical engineering services; MDA Consulting Ltd as quantity surveyors; and Curtins Consulting to provide structural engineering services.
