design solutions
Mathematical precision
Queen Mary University of London is poised to complete an extensive upgrade of its School of Mathematical Sciences Building this summer
L
ed by GRAHAM’s London and South East team, works have been taking place on Queen Mary University of
London’s Mile End campus since 2018 to provide its 25,000 students and 4,500 staff with a high-quality environment to learn and socialise.
Highly rated for its teaching, research and public engagement activities, one of QMUL’s key objectives for the refurbishment was to modernise the building’s facilities and make them fit-for- purpose so students can innovate and learn. Key works have included refurbishing and extending the existing structure to provide suitable accommodation, as well as overhauling the building’s envelope to reflect its prominent position on campus. In addition to upgrading the existing building, GRAHAM has also built a new communal space that not only enhances the learning experience for students but provides them with a dedicated area in which they can socialise or congregate for special events. Owing to the University’s occupied status during the construction programme, the creation of new areas was not without its challenges. Dave Brisco, project manager for GRAHAM, explained: “While we are used to working on educational buildings that remain open over the course of the construction programme, it is never without its own set
of challenges and logistical constraints. As a first step we liaised with the campus management on specific pinch points and access routes which were particularly important to maintain during the construction phase. This dictated the location and size of our site welfare compound as we had to maintain access to adjacent buildings. We also needed to create a protected walkway to facilitate access through our site from the Mile End Road to the Students’ Union’s bar.” Brisco added: “Another key consideration was minimising any potential disruption to the adjacent research labs that were actively in use. We set up movement monitoring equipment to make sure that the construction work was not subjecting labs in the neighbouring buildings to excessive vibration and therefore disrupting sensitive research projects. We had a vigorous and structured routine in place for making sure that this was always running successfully and efficiently, ultimately leading to no complaints from users of the campus.” Professor Boris Khoruzhenko, Head of Queen Mary’s School of Mathematical Sciences also added: “One of the key objectives for QMUL was to enhance the learning environment by optimising existing space and to create a stronger link between the buildings on campus,
ultimately leading to greater collaboration amongst students. Boris said: “We are already very impressed with the finish and quality of work that has been delivered so far, and as we near completion we are increasingly eager to show our students and staff the finished result and to see them collaborate more efficiently on their projects. Our vision was to create a new and enhanced learning environment with state-of-the-art facilities to work and learn in, and we’re confident that we will deliver that and continue to foster academic excellence and a thriving research culture that puts the needs of our students first.”
www.graham.co.uk
highereducationestates 15
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