Wates starts work on new £12m Uni building

WATES Construction has started work on a new £12m Learning Commons building on Oxford Road for The University of Manchester.

The building will provide students with 24/7 flexible learning space, quality IT facilities, learning support services and a campus activity hub.

The building has been designed by architecture practice Sheppard Robson, and will replace the University’s former Refectory and Moberly Tower buildings, which were partially demolished earlier this year. It will be flanked by Oxford Road, Lime Grove and Burlington Street.

The project is the latest in a number of higher education schemes completed by Wates, including a £13m Central Teaching Laboratory at the University of Liverpool and a £20m campus redevelopment for Stockport College.

John Shannon, business unit director for Wates Construction, said: “This is set to be a world-class building which will be of huge benefit to the University and its students, whilst also contributing to the ongoing regeneration of the Oxford Road corridor.

“We see the higher education sector as the core of our business and we can bring our experience of successfully working in and around live campus environments to The University of Manchester.”

Rupert Goddard, associate partner at Sheppard Robson and design director on the project, commented: “With its dynamic and innovative design, we hope that the Learning Commons will reflect the University’s values, acting as a symbol of its ambitious agenda for the future. The building will also contribute towards reinforcing the importance of the Manchester Corridor as the backbone of the city’s knowledge economy.”

Construction of the Learning Commons is set to complete in May 2012.