PROJECT
ULSTER UNIVERSITY BELFAST CAMPUS
SACYR DELIVERS A ‘CATHEDRAL’ OF LEARNING FOR BELFAST
AVANT-GARDE DESIGN AND OUTSTANDING CONSTRUCTION DELIVERY COMPLETES ULSTER UNIVERSITY’S NEW ENHANCED BELFAST CAMPUS…
L ed by Sacyr UK & Ireland, the represents one of the most impressive feats of architecture and construction delivered within the UK in recent years. Taking its architectural design inspiration from the shape of the surrounding Belfast hills, the 75,000m2 addition to the campus is one of the largest higher education capital builds in Europe and is set to transform higher education in the city. newly completed £363.9m Ulster University campus in Belfast The new building, designed and built by Sacyr, is bright and open with five atriums and 22,000m2 of glass used in its construction. The facilities include more than 300 learning spaces, two lecture theatres with 350 and 250 seats
respectively, 18 elevators, a two-story library and private study sections, which can accommodate up to 500 students, a biometric laboratory, nine catering outlets including a rooftop café. This state-of-the-art building combines Victorian inspiration from local architecture and modern, using long- lasting materials, resulting in a sustainable building which can accommodate more than 15,000 university students and staff. BESPOKE DESIGN The responsibility of managing the delivery of the final phase lay with Duane McCreadie, Construction Director for Sacyr. “It has been an intense three-year construction period,” he admitted. “Every element of the building has a degree
of bespokeness, which has required a lot of BIM modelling. All elements needed intensive design, procurement and sampling before installation. It is a very complicated building but also a wonderful piece of architecture. Parts of it have been described as cathedral like.” The concrete superstructure frame includes a two-storey concrete basement with a small number of steel frames erected at the top to house the plant. The cladding is a mixture of brickwork and multiple types of glass installed on an extremely complex façade which steps in and out on different levels and planes. There are 19 roof levels which include green roofs, a vast solar panel installation and roof terrace complete with tree planting.
“…in my opinion, this has to be one of the best buildings built in the UK in the last few years.”
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