Beautifully blends old and new forms into an elegant, coherent whole
Hopkins Architects for University of Nottingham
Contract value: £16m
GIA: 7,404 m²
An expansion in serious scientific study meant the university needed to double the size of its existing academic library. Hopkins faced the difficult task of tackling an unremarkable 1960s Basil Spence building on a tight sloping site. It developed a clever concept to successfully marry the old and new halves of the modernised library.
Two new entrances lead into a full-height atrium – and make an uplifting short cut through the campus.
The undulating facade brings light deep into a large floorplate and defines both study areas and the external landscape. Overall the effect is to beautifully blend old and new forms into an elegant, coherent whole. The rigorous architectural approach applies a specially developed facade system over the entire building to unify its external appearance. Huge technical challenges were overcome to achieve the seemingly effortless BREEAM Excellent result.
RIBA East Midlands Sustainability Award