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Iconic new development at º£½ÇÖ±²¥ gets underway

Work has begun on a £20 million flagship development at the heart of º£½ÇÖ±²¥â€™s campus.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Graham Henderson CBE DL and Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald, along with chairman of the board of governors, Alastair MacColl and º£½ÇÖ±²¥â€™s Chief Operating Officer Malcolm Page, performed the ceremonial turf-cutting ceremony, which signalled the beginning of construction of the iconic teaching centre. The new building will transform the centre of the University and offer state-of-the-art teaching facilities and learning spaces for students as well as a 200 seat lecture theatre.

The building will form the focal point of a vibrant and energised campus heart which will benefit from extensive landscaping.

This additional space will also mean the University can reconfigure its office accommodation on campus to further develop its library which recently underwent a £2m refurbishment and earned the accolade of the best university library in the North East, according to the National Student Survey 2012.

Professor Henderson said: 'This sees the start of a dream I’ve had for many years.

'Higher education is getting more and more competitive and if we want to compete, we’ve got to have the best facilities we can.

'This is going to transform the University and in 12 months’ time, this place will be unrecognisable.

'It will be everything I’ve dreamed of and will be a great resource for the students.

'Hopefully it will attract more people to come to º£½ÇÖ±²¥, not just locally but nationally and internationally.'

Construction of the teaching centre will be carried out by BAM, who were responsible for Middlesbrough’s BoHo centre. BAM’s Regional Director James Wimpenny and architect Neil Chapman from Austin-Smith:Lord also assisted with the turf cutting.

The building will use a copper alloy cladding system, which as well as bringing an additional warmth and texture to the building, will maintain its high-quality appearance with little maintenance.

The building will be designed to achieve a ranking of excellent in the BREEAM environmental assessment ratings.

Over recent years, º£½ÇÖ±²¥ has invested close to £200 million in its campus at Middlesbrough in order to provide world class facilities for its students, partners and the local and regional economy.

It will build upon the accolade of being a top modern university and receiving the royal honour of a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for excellence in higher education.

Andy McDonald said: 'This is going to be transformational for the University and will also be such a boon to our town.

'It will change the look of this place beyond recognition with lots of green spaces to attract people into it, not just University students, but all the members of the public in Middlesbrough and beyond.'

A visitor centre will be on site so the students, the community and visitors to the campus can be kept informed of its development as it progresses. The project will also be used as a live example of building information modelling (BIM) for study groups.

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