Ground breaking ceremony marks start of work on New Academic Building
The £22 million building on Talbot Campus will provide academic and research space for staff and students
A ground breaking ceremony has marked the start of construction on a new £22 million academic building at Talbot Campus.
The four-storey building – due to be completed for the 2016/17 academic year - will provide state-of-the-art learning facilities for BU students and staff.
It will include a large atrium, catering facilities and a varied selection of flexible teaching and research spaces, including lecture theatres and seminar rooms.
The ground breaking ceremony celebrated the start of work on the new building, and was attended by key figures from the university and construction company Willmott Dixon.
Speaking at the ceremony, Sue Sutherland OBE, Chair of the BU Board, said: “The new building is going to contain a whole range of things that will make such a difference to our student experience, and also our staff, who deserve to have the best possible facilities.
“We feel as if we really are a growing, vibrant organisation in the throes of developing world class facilities and world class students.”
The new academic building is just one part of the £200 million investment that BU is making to its estate over the next five years.
This includes a new Student Centre and Bournemouth University International College, as well as refurbishment of existing facilities.
BU Vice-Chancellor Professor John Vinney said: “The new academic building at Bournemouth University is the next instalment of our long term investment plan to provide world-class facilities for our students and staff.
“Opening in 2016, the £22m new building will host academic and support facilities including seminar rooms, lecture theatres, break-out space and catering facilities.
“Together with the construction of the £10.5m Student Centre and the Bournemouth University International College, we are making significant progress towards further enhancing our world-class facilities for world-class performance.”
John Boughton, Director of Operations for Willmott Dixon, said the ground breaking ceremony marked not only the start of work on the new academic building, but the continuation of a strong working relationship with BU.
“Very often we celebrate an individual project, but what is fairly unique here is that we can celebrate a lot more than that.
“We have built a relationship for almost two years and we should recognise the development of that relationship and how strong and collaborative it has actually become over that period.
To find out more about the new academic building, please visit the building microsite.
