Student Centre and University Square

The University, along with all others in the sector, is facing increased costs. We are seeing the sharp end of the impact of inflation, as well as uncertainty in global markets, which all adds additional challenges.

In light of these financial pressures, we are currently reviewing our designs for the Student Centre to re-examine associated costs, before moving forward again with our plans.

Importantly, the future Student Centre will retain our core design principles: wellness standards, sustainability and accessibility. 

As we review our plans, it gives us a chance to take into account all the feedback over the last 12 months. The ideas and opinions from our staff and student engagement and consultancy sessions continue to be invaluable and remain relevant, so thank you once again to everyone who has contributed so far.

We will share any new updates on the Student Centre as soon as we can. In the meantime, we won’t remove the previous design images on our web pages, so you can see the principles in action and follow them through into our future plans.

Project overview

This exciting project will deliver a brand new central welcome point to the campus as well as a new student centre and surrounding public realm. 

The Student Centre will be located centrally on campus west, linking the Library with Market Square and Greg’s Place. The building, which is one of the University’s transformational projects, has been designed by renowned architects and aims to be as iconic as Central Hall whilst being a home from home for all our students.

Timings

The initial development stage of the project started in mid-2021 and will take several years to complete. We hope to open the building during the academic year 2025/26.

Unfortunately there will be some noise and disruption, as you would expect from a development of this size. We have published a disruption notices web page so you can see at a glance what is going on, where and any alternative arrangements that have been put in place.

Benefits

Visit our dedicated Student Centre web pages to learn more about the decisions behind the inspirational design and construction, as well as how we are placing health, wellbeing and sustainability at the centre of our thinking. Learn more about how the building will serve our entire community, what it will look like and what will feature in the space itself.