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Work to commence on new landmark £35m Art & Design building

Planning permission has been granted for a new state-of-the-art building to house the Nottingham School of Art & Design at Nottingham Trent University (NTU).

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    An artist's impression of the new development

    Work to commence on new landmark £35m Art & Design building

    Planning permission has been granted for a new state-of-the-art building to house the Nottingham School of Art & Design at Nottingham Trent University (NTU).

    The building, designed by award-winning architects Hawkins\Brown, will create a signature presence on the university’s city campus, and is part of an ambitious plan to build on NTU’s reputation as one of the world’s leading art and design schools.

    The new development will replace redundant buildings on the corner of Shakespeare Street and North Sherwood Street, exploiting views to and from the city whilst respecting the neighbouring heritage buildings.

    It will enable NTU to develop its creative industries offering by bringing new technologies for film, animation, UX design, gaming and graphic design and illustration together with traditional design practice.

    The building – which is 5,300 square metres - will feature a glazed ground floor entrance which will be used as an exhibition space, providing visitors with an exciting sense of arrival and offering opportunity for collaboration within the university, industry and the local community, through social open learning spaces.

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    An artist's impression of the front elevation

    There will be dedicated spaces for visual communication, moving image and digital screen disciplines as well as a cafe, Digital Innovation Lab and Black Box Studio.

    The building will support NTU’s zero carbon commitment and has been designed with the aim of achieving BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and DEC ‘A’ ratings. A future aspiration, alongside the development, is to create a nearby green space for students, colleagues and the local community to enjoy as part of NTU’s commitment to greening the city and enhancing the biodiversity of the university environment.

    Professor Edward Peck, Vice-Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University, said: “This building will enable the Nottingham School of Art & Design to become the leading art and design school in the UK, positioning us at the heart of one of the UK’s most innovative cities, creating the best talent in one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK economy.

    “It will expand our contribution to the creative industries and be a major driver of innovation and technology in art and design, allowing us to be at the forefront of the creative industries and building upon our heritage of the past 175 years.”

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    Michael Marsden, Executive Dean of the Nottingham School of Art & Design, said: “This new building pushes the boundaries, not only through the architecture and technologies used to create it, but through the courses on offer, the opportunity for collaboration, and the graduates it will produce.”

    This significant investment is expected to create more than 350 jobs and over an additional £1 million in student expenditure in the local economy.

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      About Nottingham Trent University

      Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2019 in the Guardian University Awards. The award was based on performance and improvement in the Guardian University Guide, retention of students from low-participation areas and attainment of BME students.

      NTU was also the Times Higher Education University of the Year 2017, and The Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2018. These awards recognise NTU for its high levels of student satisfaction, its quality of teaching, its engagement with employers, and its overall student experience.

      The university has been rated Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework – the highest ranking available.

      It is one of the largest UK universities. With over 37,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University injects £1.6bn into the UK economy. It has been the largest recruiter of UK undergraduates in each of the last four years. With an international student population of more than 6,000 and an NTU community representing around 160 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook.

      The university is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable NTU to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was awarded University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards 2019.

    Published on 21 October 2021
    • Category: Press office; School of Art & Design