The University of West London wanted to provide a new build facility at their St Mary’s road Campus.

This involved creating an environment that would combine the values of learning and the social side of university life to attract new students.

Following demolition of the existing site the proposed new build would produce a focal point or ‘Heartspace’. This would be a large day lit atrium, connecting the various aspects of the campus which would include a library/learning centre, a performance centre and social facilities. Student services including the Student Union could then be accessed through the ground floor refectory and a new glazed gallery.

Challenge
SVM BSD were appointed to take forward the Stage 3 developed design. The biggest challenge was to join together five existing buildings and connect the new heartspace construction. This necessitated working with the structural restrictions of the existing buildings and distributing new services throughout the entire campus.

As this was a live site, we had to work closely with the design team, University’s Estates Team and Stakeholders. This allowed the team to create an intricate sequence of phased works so that the campus could remain live throughout the demolition and construction of both old and new buildings.

Solution
SVM BSD provided an M&E design to work around a recently installed CHP district heating system. The design allowed for large amounts of photovoltaic panels in order to meet the requirements of the London Plan for renewable energy.

Collaborative working is a core strength at SVM BSD and on this project, we were able to help the main contractor identify a workable solution to complete an unscheduled area of the university. We also advised the university on main utility options and future energy targets as well as value engineering to help comply with budget constraints.

To ensure the design team was reading from the same page, the preferred design communications method was to employ a file sharing platform. This is a single point of storage for project information. Our experience in using file sharing and project sites such as 4projects, BIW and Buzzsaw was the key to effective collaborative working.

The Outcome
The heartspace, named because of its central location in the campus, is now a vibrant social area for staff and students. It includes a library/learning centre, a performance centre and social facilities. Student services such as the Student Union are accessed through the ground floor refectory and a new glazed gallery.