A Staffordshire leisure contractor has won a contract for a major refit of the University of Northampton’s Students Union facilities.
Rugeley-based Kribensis Leisure Contracts is carrying out the £350,000 refit, which involves transforming the Students Union bar and coffee lounge into flexible rooms which can be used at all times of the day.
The refit is aimed at creating social learning space in the 500-capacity facility that can be used by student groups throughout the day, but can be transformed into a night-time venue for events and entertainment in the evening.
The refurbishment – the first of its kind – was inspired by the IKEA kitchen party TV ad, with the design concept taking the form of a series of rooms that students and guests can socialise in.
The company will also be installing a state-of-the-art Sound Ceiling in the students’ union facilities, which uses a high-tech ceiling-mounted speaker system to reduce noise leakage from discos and live performances..
Design work on the Students Union transformation was carried out by KLC’s sister company, GMP Design, also based in Rugeley.
Lead designer Jason Robinson said, “This was an exciting project which involved creating a multi-purpose space to be used for social learning and group activity during the day, but becoming a bar, lounge and event venue in the evening. We achieved this by the use of flexible sliding and folding walls and flexible seating which will provide a pleasant, social environment for a wide range of purposes.”
KLC is also installing a 900 speaker directional Sound Ceiling to control noise from the dance-floor. The Student Union has had problems in the past with noise nuisance complaints and struggle to operate with traditional loudspeakers. There are student residences 250 metres away from the dance-floor. The Sound Ceiling will solve this problem and has beeb approved by environmental health officials.
The University of Northampton, to the north of the town centre, is globally renowned for subject specialisms including fashion, leather technology and waste management. The university aims to become the top university in the UK for social enterprise by 2015. To achieve this the university integrates social enterprise into student activities, teaching, learning and research, and works with local authorities, businesses and the wider community to deliver improvements to Northamptonshire
This was not the first University project carried out by the Kribensis and GMP Design teams. The company has also completed the refurbishment of the international students centre at Cardiff University, the refit of the Students Union bar at Leicester De Montfort University, and completely redesigned The Academi, a nightclub for students at Bangor University. They have also completed the refit of a student club at the University of Westminster and carried out work on leisure facilities at Loughborough and Portsmouth universities.
Kribensis, based on the Towers Business Park in Rugeley, was established 10 years ago and has become a UK leader in new builds and refits in the leisure and hospitality industries.
