Darlington Campus, Teesside University

Following a successful previous project for Teesside University at Centuria South, CPMG and Morgan Ashurst were appointed to develop and construct this new academic building for the same client in Darlington.

With a contract value of £7.5m, the project was a 4,000 square metre development over five storeys (including a roof terrace), with associated infrastructure and external works. The building’s primary purpose is teaching, business development and shared learning. It also incorporates a library, double-height café space, staff facilities and independent entrances for students and corporate users. Situated on a brown field site next to the main East Coast rail line, the project posed a number of technical challenges, particularly in terms of acoustics.

The building is built around a steel frame with pre-cast concrete floor slabs for speed of erection. The main features of the design include a large area of curtain walling on the west elevation, zinc cladding and Kalwall panels on the east façade. A blue brick ‘spine’ wall runs the entire length of the building, sloping both horizontally from one end to the other and vertically at each end.