Styles&Wood lands university library refurb brief
NORTH West listed property services company Styles&Wood has been appointed to carry out the £8.6m refurbishment of Lancaster University’s library.
Designed by Sheppard Robson, the library renovation project, is due to complete in January 2016.
Styles&Wood, based in Timperley south Manchester, sai its projects business unit will complete strip out and refurbishment works to the building’s east and west wings on a phased basis. This will allow the ongoing use of the library during the refurbishment, minimising disruption for the university’s 12,000 students.
The 72-week project will include creating a new atrium from the existing courtyard, the installation of new furniture and fixtures, mechanical and electrical upgrades and the reconfiguration of the building’s stairs and lifts.
Tony Lenehan, chief executive of Styles&Wood, said: “This is a significant win for Styles&Wood in a key growth sector for a number of the group’s service lines, including design, energy and project delivery.
“The group has successfully secured £14.6m revenue in 2014 from the education sector. This compares with our first year’s trading in this new area in 2012 of £4m and further enhances a strong portfolio of quality reference projects. As such, combined with our expertise in working in live, occupied environments, we are now in an excellent position to secure future projects as institutions continue to review their property estates.”
Mark Swindlehurst, Lancaster University’s director of facilities, added: “Extensive consultation with the academic community at Lancaster generated remarkably consistent feedback that users valued their library as a unique, serious academic study space.”
“There had been a strong emphasis on sustainable innovation and it was the University’s commitment to the environment and to a sustainable future which inspired the approach towards redesigning the original 1960s’ building.”
