Newcastle University

Regular readers of NUBusiness and friends of the Business School will know that our brand-new, £50m building opened its doors to students in September. Years in the planning and months in the building, the Business School’s new headquarters provide the optimum environment for students at all levels – from undergraduates to MBAs.

Vital statistics

• 18 seminar rooms
• 16 meeting rooms
• 4 lecture theatres
• Panoramic events space on the 8th floor
• MBA Club
• State-of-the-art IT clusters
• Coffee shop, open to the public

The new building, designed by Ian Simpson Architects, houses both traditional and contemporary spaces for learning, teaching, networking, and collaborating. During term time up to 1,200 students a day will flood through the imposing lobby area attending lectures, seminars and meetings. It promises to be a place of transformation, not only for the lives of students, but also for the city and the wider region.

Breaking with tradition

Students for years to come will benefit from the modern business environment inside the new building, which is part of a £100m re-development on the old Scottish and Newcastle Brewery site. ‘Our layout purposefully facilitates networking and group work among students,’ says Professor John Leopold, deputy director at the Business School. ‘Visitors from institutions and industry have been extremely impressed by the opportunities for collaboration built into the design. We often talk of the beneficial challenge derived from top students interacting with each other; it pushes them to achieve even more. We have tried to create a better environment for learning by bringing our students together and making that challenge as immediate as possible.’

Academic staff should also find it easier to work together, sparking new directions in research characterised by ‘excellence with relevance’. Professor Leopold says: ‘In the past we were spread half a mile apart across the city, with staff in Citygate, at the Armstrong Building, and others at Ridley House. But now that teaching staff are concentrated, opportunities for knowledge sharing and research collaboration are infinitely better.’

An iconic landmark

Professor Leopold has conducted a number of tours around the School’s new ‘home’, including many alumni visitors, who are always made welcome. He says, ‘The most striking thing for visitors is the way that the building feels so light and airy inside. From the top of the building, the floor- to-ceiling windows give fantastic views out over China Town, the exterior of St James’ Park Football Stadium, and the rest of the city. We now have a highly visible landmark in the heart of Newcastle, and can offer our guests a great venue for meeting, networking, and learning.’

Rachel Haugh, principal partner at Ian Simpson Architects, which was also appointed to design the first phase of the Battersea Power Station site in South London, said the building’s design offers ‘Cost effective, high quality space benefitting from generous natural light.’ Coming across the city’s Redheugh Bridge the building cuts a strikingly contemporary figure on the horizon. As Haugh says, ‘Its strength of form, robust materials and crisp detailing contribute significantly to both the local context and the city’s skyline.’

World-class with regional roots

Unusually, this transformative building is not built as a standard rectangle but as a polyhedron. This means that rooms tend not to have walls that are parallel to each other, and the exterior presents shapes and angles that reflect light.

Professor Ian Clarke, director of the Business School, commented, ‘From the inside and out, our new building really does represent the huge strides we are taking as a progressive, international Business School. We’ve seen such significant growth in student numbers as a result of our investment into market-relevant, highquality teaching, research, and engagement with industry. We’re extremely proud of this success, which reflects our ambition to be a truly world-class institution.’