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£34m teaching centre underway at Newcastle Science Central

Construction is now underway on Newcastle Science Central latest development in the form of a £34m Learning and Teaching Centre for Newcastle University.

Set to open in September 2019, the facility will provide a 722 seat auditorium which can be divided into two separate lecture theatres with a 200 seat tiered lecture theatre for collaborative group teaching.

Designed by architects Sheppard Robson, building firm Sir Robert McAlpine has been appointed to undertake the development.

Spanning over 24 acres of mixed use prime city-centre development land, Newcastle Science Central is the largest development of its kind in the UK.

A new urban quarter in the centre of Newcastle, the site is attracting leading edge scientific and technology organisations to a mixed community, encompassing a variety of R&D, educational, business and residential uses.

Professor Suzanne Cholerton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching, Newcastle University, said: “By developing exciting, new, purpose-built educational spaces, such as the Learning and Teaching Centre, we will secure our future as one of the UK’s leading universities.

“This project reflects our commitment to delivering the best possible experience for our students through our continued focus on providing learning opportunities of the highest standard, supported by our five-year, £500m programme of investment.

“In addition to providing modern learning facilities for up to 2,200 students across three floors, the centre will also provide exhibition space, café and expansive social learning spaces.

Rupert Goddard, partner at Sheppard Robson, added: “With the start of construction, we are one step closer to delivering a project which – by deftly weaving together social spaces with flexible auditoria – will promote modern ways of learning and teaching.

“We wanted our design to communicate the pivotal role this facility will have to the campus and wider University, with a strident design that resonates both with the campus context and the city’s history of scientific innovation.”

Appointed as the main contractor for the Learning and Teaching Centre, Sir Robert McAlpines’ involvement in the project follows on from its delivery of The Core building which was the first building to have been completed as part of the Science Central development.

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