Management School - Austin Smith: Lord
Architects Austin Smith: Lord recently completed a £6.1 million refurbishment and extension of the University of Liverpool’s School of Management buildings. The project was carried out by the university’s in-house construction company ULCCO, who first oversaw upgrades to the existing facilities in the Chatham Building, before embarking on constructing a four-storey, 32,000 sq ft extension. It is estimated the entire project cost the University of Liverpool £7.5 million. As part of the School of Management’s continued eco-awareness and low carbon strategy, the extension features a 10 kiloWatt photo-voltaic solar panel on the roof, while the building itself is fitted throughout with low-energy LED lighting. These are expected to drastically reduce energy consumption in the new build. The new facility officially opened on schedule in summer 2016, in time for the staff to move in before the academic year began. It features an open-plan concourse across all four floors, with balconies that elegantly overhang buzzing breakout and cafe spaces below. Indeed, the university wasted no time in making the most of their new scheme, with scheduled events taking place as early as November 2016. The improvements to the School of Management are just a small part of the continued efforts that University of Liverpool are making to upgrade their facilities. They estimate that £600 million has been invested over a ten year period into teaching, research and residential projects. This includes £250 million in high-end student accommodation, and £350 million spent on the city centre campus, and the Veterinary Science site in Leahurst, on the Wirral.
