27


  ! 


turning it into what the union now claims is among the best in the country. The original building, named after university benefactor


F


Percy Gee, was opened in 1958 with a bizarre design on a sloping site that meant that although there were only five basic floors, within that there were 35 separate levels. It was a confusing mass of twisting staircases, small flights of


steps, corridors that led to unexpected destinations and a baf- fling layout for new students to negotiate. As for disability access, forget about it. One lift was installed


in the 1990s but apart from that it was extremely difficult for disabled people to use the building. Your correspondent, a student at Leicester in mid-1970s, can


attest that it was hard to stand anywhere in the Percy Gee and say with certainty what was beneath you, so confusing was the layout. That was not all. The original building was a U shape with the


centre of the ‘U’ wasted space, empty except for some boiler houses and a car park, so requiring a lengthy walk between the two wings. Its frontage onto the campus was a formal entrance, but to


those entering the campus from the main road only parked cars, boilers and stored beer kegs were visible. By 2008 it had become obvious to the university that the


building was on its last legs, not least since the numbers of stu- dents on campus needing to use it had soared from 3-4,000 in the 1970s to some 12,000. Fortunately, the university at that time had a substantial


capital fund for a building programme that takes in a number of projects on the campus. It was thus able to find £15.3 million of the £17.1 million


needed from its own resources, with remainder coming from grants and donations. Architect Shepheard Epstein Hunter designed the refur-


bished building as part of its masterplan for all developments on the campus.


continued on page 29


Opposite LUSU during refurbishment Top: The Square Above: The Square under constuction


rom rabbit warren to sustainability showpiece, Leicester University Students’ Union’s building has undergone a radical transformation by contractor Morgan Sindall,


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5