New teaching and learning building at the University of Southampton gets the go ahead

Image: courtesy of Sheppard Robson

The University of Southampton has received planning permission for the first phase of its North East Quadrant (NEQ) Development, designed by Sheppard Robson. The 15,000sqm student centre will comprise a five-storey teaching and learning building that prioritises student experience and wellbeing as well as creating a new gateway to the university's Highfield campus.

A key part of the brief is to create a building that has an open, civic quality and positively impacts the wider University estate. The NEQ building, replacing an existing car park, will draw activity from the campus centre to this site which sits on the edge of the campus.

A wider masterplan by Sheppard Robson and landscape design by Fabrik establishes new pedestrian and cycle routes to promote permeability, with the reinvention of the 1.72-hectare site also an opportunity to improve biodiversity and create outdoor spaces for teaching and socialising.

Alongside the multi-disciplinary teaching spaces, the building creates a home on the Highfield Campus for the students and staff of the Faculty of Medicine. The new Student Hub provides pastoral and academic support to the student community, and the café ensures that the wellbeing and experience of students is supported in this new area of campus.

Passive design features are bolstered by active energy generation strategies, such as the 885sqm PV panel array on the project’s green, wildflower roofs. Internally, the sustainable engineering solutions maximise the potential of natural ventilation and assisted natural ventilation strategies.

The implementation of these passive design strategies has reduced operational energy demand by over 40%; this follows the completion of the TM54 analysis against the baseline scheme which has none of the above passive design strategies applied.

Kevin Argent, Executive Director of Estates and Facilities at the University of Southampton, said: “Sheppard Robson have successfully brought to life the ambitions of the University to create a modern teaching and learning facility that meets every goal of our wider University Strategy.

“The building, designed to reflect the materiality of the local Southampton Civic Centre, will demonstrate an holistic approach to sustainable development that has been integrated into the design from the outset. Energy consumption will be minimised, contributing to the University’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

“The design will improve the arrival experience to Highfield campus and will establish a presence for the University on Burgess Road with a landmark building which is representative of the University as a major Russell Group institution.

“Working with Sheppard Robson and the wider consultant team to design this building has been a fantastic experience and I look forward to seeing the building take shape.”

Eugene Sayers, Partner at Sheppard Robson, said: “The North East Quadrant project needed to have a magnetic quality, drawing student from the centre of the campus with buildings, spaces and places that signal the arrival of a game-changing facility for the University.

“We wanted to create a landscape and building that are rooted in their surroundings and have a distinctive character to match the boldness of the 1960s campus. The variety of spaces created will allow people to use the buildings and landscapes in a multitude of ways and make them their own.”

The teaching and learning building is the first phase of a masterplan drawn, with the second phase including an education building for the neighbouring site that will be developed as part of the University’s wider estate strategy.

Until the future development of this site, a large amenity lawn will be provided in the interim, to animate the neighbouring plot, as a opportunity for sports, socialising and to contribute further to the site’s biodiversity and the wellbeing of staff, students and visitors to this new campus destination.

The University has appointed Kier as the contractor for the project.