University's Stockwell Street proposals open to public
A public exhibition of design proposals for the University of Greenwich’s new development on Stockwell Street opens on Thursday, July 1.
Local residents and businesses have been invited to give feedback on the university’s plans to invest £76 million in a new building on the site, which will be home to a university library, TV studios and the School of Architecture & Construction. This will allow more of the university’s activities to be based in Greenwich, alongside its main campus in the Old Royal Naval College.
The consultation process is still at an early stage. The university will continue to develop its proposals before a planning application is submitted in the autumn, when there will be further public consultation.
The proposed building aims to bring new life to Stockwell Street, restoring the traditional street line. A gallery and cafe, open to the community, will be part of an elegant glazed frontage at ground floor level and a new pedestrian path will link Stockwell Street with King William Walk alongside the railway cutting.
The development is expected to boost the local economy by bringing in an extra 2,000 students and 70 staff, who will come into the town each week, along with those attending short courses and conferences. New facilities on the site will allow the university to extend its work with local schools and colleges and there will be scope for local organisations to use meeting rooms and lecture theatres.
The university’s Vice-Chancellor, Baroness Blackstone, says: “I am delighted that the university has been able to purchase this site, much of which has been derelict for many years. I believe our new buildings will greatly enhance Greenwich town centre and benefit the people of Greenwich as well as our students and staff.”
After a competition, heneghan peng architects were appointed to work on the scheme last summer, with a brief to design a distinctive, modern building appropriate for its sensitive architectural setting in Greenwich; this is their fourth commission in or around a World Heritage Site.
One of the university’s ambitions for the building is that it should meet high standards of sustainability in every area of its operation including construction, use of energy and water, waste management and biodiversity. The aim is to achieve an "excellent" rating in the BREEAM environmental assessment. In line with the university’s broader policy to promote green travel, there will be space to park bicycles on the site, but car parking will be available for disabled people only.
The public exhibition will run from Thursday, July 1 until Friday, July 9 with the following opening times:
Thursday, July 1, 5pm to 7.30pm; Friday, July 2, 8.30am to 7.30pm; Saturday, July 3, 10am to 5pm; Monday, July 5 to Friday, July 9, 8.30am to 5pm.
Staff will be available to answer questions on Thursday 1 and Friday, July 2 from 5pm to 7pm and Saturday, July 3 from 11am to 3pm.
University of Greenwich, Greenwich Campus, Room 015, Ground Floor, Queen Mary Court, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, SE10 9LS
Find out more: www.gre.ac.uk/stockwellstreet
Ends
For further information and additional images please contact:
Nick Davison
Press Officer
University of Greenwich
020 8331 8092
Notes to editors
The heneghan peng architects have four commissions in and around World Heritage Sites including the visitors’ centre for the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, the Grand Museum of Egypt at the Pyramids and a bridge across the Rhine Valley in Germany. Other projects include a pedestrian bridge for the London 2012 Games, linking the Olympic Stadium to the Aquatic Centre and Basketball Arena, and the extension and refurbishment of the National Gallery in Ireland.
Size of development: the building is expected to be about 17,000 square metres, including a large basement. The university’s School of Architecture & Construction will use the majority of the space (about 10,000 square metres) with the remainder used for the new campus library.
The library: Running alongside the railway cutting, this part of the building will be a new heart for the university’s Greenwich campus, serving all 11,000 students and 1,000 staff. It will have excellent IT and display facilities to support learning and teaching in the 21st century, and to provide public access to the university’s historic archives. As well as housing books and periodicals, it will provide state-of-the-art computing and learning resources. There will be space for quiet, individual study, as well as for students to work together in groups.
The School of Architecture & Construction will be centred around a light and airy studio, with seminar rooms above. Here, students will be able develop both their creative ideas and their professional skills. The School will also include a workshop where architectural models can be made, photographic and digital studios, and tutorial rooms. The campus’s biggest lecture theatre, seating 350 people, will be sited here, along with two TV studios for students studying Film & TV Production in the School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences.
The new university building is intended primarily for teaching and research, with some community uses. There will no residential accommodation for students on site.