Member Article

UCLan staff and students are stars of EIC hoardings

Staff, students and industry partners of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) have been depicted on hoardings surrounding the site of the new £30 million-plus Engineering Innovation Centre (EIC), in what is thought to be a first at a UK university.

60 people volunteered to have life-sized photographs of themselves displayed across the 187 metre hoardings alongside images of the equipment they will be using, from flight simulators to Formula Ford racing cars.

UCLan photography graduate Ian Clegg took the images, assisted by current students from the MA and BA photograpy courses.

The hoardings will also feature new artist impressions and architects’ drawings of the campus transformation.

Charles Quick, Professor of Public Art Practice, said: “The hoardings presented an opportunity to engage stakeholders in the campus transformation, and to our knowledge it’s the first time that anywhere has tried to document a representative sample of the members of the community who will be using the building.

“By photographing real staff and students, people can envisage themselves engaging with the space, and the fact that 60 people volunteered to take part demonstrates a real sense of pride in our institution.

“As the Masterplan progresses and we create more hoardings, we intend to photograph a wider range of stakeholders such as neighbours, business people and young people.

“This is another great opportunity to consult with these external audiences face-to-face and gain their feedback on the plans, in addition to our regular public engagement events and Q&A sessions.”

A major milestone within the £200 million Campus Masterplan, the EIC will be a state-of-the-art facility and integrated teaching and research space, anticipated to produce an increase of 500 locally trained graduates per year in areas such as aerospace, mechanical and energy technologies and engineering.

It will deliver a range of key objectives including confirming Lancashire’s role as a national centre for advanced manufacturing, ensuring that local skills reflect social and economic needs and increasing the number of females in engineering careers.

Identified as a signature project within Lancashire’s Strategic Economic Plan, the EIC has secured £10.5 million via the Lancashire Enterprise Partnerships’ Growth Deal with the Government. The new facility has also received £5.8 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and £5million from HEFCE’s STEM Capital Fund.

SimpsonHaugh has led on the design in collaboration with Reiach and Hall Architects. BDP, which was founded in Preston, is providing structural engineering and building services expertise, while the preferred contractor has been named as Bam Construction.

The EIC is due for completion in 2019.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chloe .