New College, Durham

Calman Learning Centre

This state-of-the-art £12.2m development provides the University with four lecture theatres containing over 1000 seats in total, together with a bistro café and IT techno suite. The iconic building is designed in the shape of a drum, with curved exterior zinc cladding panels and coloured glass windows with soft backlighting. The ground floor houses the reception, bistro café and 400-seat lecture theatre. The IT techno suite is located on the first floor and offers students the opportunity to share learning experiences in small groups in a series of booths. The second floor houses two 260-seat theatres and a breakout area for small group discussions. On the fourth floor there is a 160-seat flat-floored, flexible teaching room, together with a 32-seat multipurpose room with stunning views over the city centre and Cathedral. All the rooms have modern audio visual equipment and facilities with capacity to link all the lecture theatres and take external video feeds. This allows the University to hold day-to-day lectures, seminars, meetings and international conferences. Work commenced on the facility in June 2006 and was completed successfully on budget and on time for the new term in summer 2007. LPS provided full pre and post-contract project management and contract administration services.

Experience