A STATE of the art new build at the University of Warwick is a step closer to scooping Britain’s most prestigious architectural award.
Warwick’s Faculty of Arts building has been recognised as a national winner by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and as such is now up for the RIBA Sterling Prize in recognition of architectural excellence, which will be announced in October.
The £60million building forms part of the university’s £100m investment into the arts and is the cornerstone of its new campus arts quarter.
Designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, the building brings together the departments and schools of the faculty under one roof.
Providing a world-class centre for teaching and research, it includes an antiquities room, cinema, theatre studios and a media lab, along with multi-purpose events and exhibition spaces.
Sitting at the heart of a campus designed to have a parkland feel, the building was conceived as four distinct light-filled pavilions, connected by a full-height atrium, grouped around a central stair. An internal “street” provides a route through the building.
Vice-provost and chair of the Faculty of Arts, Rachel Moseley, said: “It’s a huge honour for our beautiful new home in the Faculty of Arts building to be recognised at a national level at the RIBA awards.
“The building is designed to encourage collaborative working and to inspire creative learning and research across and between disciplines. It’s already become a much- loved space for students and colleagues from across the university.
Andy Theobald, partner at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, was proud to see the building receive RIBA recognition.
He added: “The Faculty of Arts Building was designed around the needs of the faculty to come together, to exchange ideas and celebrate all aspects of the arts.
“This vision for creative, collaborative work underpinned the whole design process, the way the project and client team worked together and ultimately, resulted in a building that staff and students at the University of Warwick can be proud of.”
