Humanities Building, University of Nottingham

A new eco-friendly arts faculty building in Nottingham has created an appealing space for students on the University Park Campus. Our design for the humanities facility was selected by the university owing to its sympathetic design and attractive landscaping, subtly linking the new building with the existing history department.

Bringing together the whole School of Philosophy, Theology, Art History, Classics and Archaeology, the building creates a new learning space from two elements. The south-facing block contains shallow-plan cellular offices, and the north-facing block houses the larger scale open-plan offices, laboratories and seminar rooms.

These elements are separated by a flexible arrangement of circulation, forum space and ancillary rooms. Visitors to the new faculty building experience a dramatic view when entering from the external landscaped area into the multiple-height forum space.

The new faculty achieves a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) ‘excellent’ rating by incorporating an open loop water source heat pump, exposed soffits and night-time purging. Assisted natural ventilation, high levels of daylighting and solar screening to the south west elevation contribute to the sustainability of the building, as well as the positive experience.