Work completes on first phase of Coventry University project

This phase of the scheme involved a comprehensive multiphase refurbishment over five floors of the 100,000 sq ft Richard Crossman Building, the current home to a range of health and life science departments including nursing, occupational therapy, paramedics, psychology and student registry services.

The refurbishment of the building, carried out by Overbury and designed by Broadway Malyan, saw the transformation of all five stories, introducing a new range of innovative teaching and social spaces.

Construction was undertaken in a number of phases to enable the building to remain operational for teaching throughout. The works included the relocation of student registry services and improved circulation and migration routes around the ground floor, with the introduction of new social spaces and large scale, flexible general teaching facilities.

Windows and areas of curtain walling were replaced along with major plant services, and the ground and fourth floors were fully stripped out and re-fitted. This included new mechanical and electrical services, partitions, ceilings, decorations, floor coverings and specialist joinery.

Levels one, two and three include a variety of new spaces, introducing a new open-plan model for teaching staff, new specialist teaching facilities and refreshed circulation and break out areas.

The fourth floor supports the University’s aspirations to expand and excel in dedicated research, with the entire floor being re-purposed into a dedicated research hub, including state of the art video conferencing and telecommunications facilities.

David Johnson Account Manager of Overbury said: “The feedback on the fit out from building users has already been extremely positive and it gives an exciting preview of what is to come from the adjacent science and health building, set to complete in 2017. We’re confident that the end result will be some of the best student facilities in the UK.”

Rob Talliss, Director of Estate Development at Coventry University, said: “The project has produced a total transformation of Richard Crossman, turning it into a modern and open building which provides the perfect environment for students and staff. The project was so well designed and phased that already it is hard to remember how it was before. It is a building of which the university can be rightly proud.”