The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have announced the shortlist in an international competition to design a new campus gateway.
The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have announced the shortlist in an international competition to design a new campus gateway within the University’s £200 million Masterplan.
A total of 41 entries were received from world-class and award-winning architectural practices across the UK and Europe for the creation of a new civic square and student support centre at the heart of UCLan’s Preston Campus.
A shortlist of seven teams was selected to proceed to the next stage of the RIBA organised competition, which required designs to deliver an excellent student experience and create a world-class campus.
"The standard of submissions was world class but what made the shortlist stand out was their grasp of our key aspirations and desire to create a new heart of campus development for both the University and the City."
Shortlisted teams will develop their initial concepts for the gateway project, which is valued at £50million in total, before final judging takes place in August.
The shortlisted teams are:
• Associated Architects
• Austin Smith: Lord LLP
• Fielden Clegg Bradley
• Hawkins\Brown
• Nicholas Hare Architects
• Sheppard Robson
• Stanton Williams
Michael Ahern, chief operating officer at UCLan, said: “We attracted a significant amount of interest from the architectural community and we are looking forward to working with such an outstanding shortlist of architects on this phase of the project.
“The standard of submissions was world class but what made the shortlist stand out was their grasp of our key aspirations and desire to create a new heart of campus development for both the University and the City and to enrich the student experience here at UCLan.”
Combined, the two projects will be the same size as London’s Trafalgar Square and are integral aspects of UCLan’s 10-year Campus Masterplan proposals.
The seven teams will present their design proposals to the panel on August 22, 2016.
Members of the community can view the proposals at two public exhibitions being held on August 8-10 in St George’s Shopping Centre, and August 11-12 in UCLan’s Foster Building on Fylde Road.