NTU's University Hall wins prestigious restoration award
Published: 19/04/2021
NTU's sympathetic renovation of a former Wesleyan Chapel into a graduation and music venue has been recognised with a prestigious award from the Association for University Directors of Estates (AUDE).
The University Impact Initiative of the Year award was granted to NTU in recognition of the extensive project which began when the university bought the former synagogue back in 2016.
Over the next few years, the Chapel was brought back to life, carefully restoring and preserving key features of the building, in order to create a graduation and concert venue.
In addition, the rear extension, which was originally constructed in 1976, was re-developed to accommodate a new Music Centre with dance and music studios as well as a dining facility and a green living wall, linked to the main Hall via a glass vestibule.
Consequently, the building has a contemporary feel whilst recognising and enhancing the historical aspect of Shakespeare Street and is not only an asset for students and staff, but a cultural and arts space for use by the wider community of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire through its public concert and events programme.
The Award was presented at the AUDE 2021 Awards via an online ceremony on Thursday 15 April
Many of us deal with heritage projects of one kind or another and they always bring interesting challenges. The new University Hall at NTU clearly adds new options not only for the university – it makes a great graduation space - but for the city as well, playing a major role in arts and culture events. The ideal mix of the modern and the historic is a balance we all try to find, and a balance that the estates team at NTU have achieved.
Umesh Desai, Director of Estates at De Montfort University and Chair-elect of AUDE, speaking on behalf of the judges