Queen Mary University of London

Dramatic presence and an eye-catching facade

The Project

Part of the School of Humanities, the 5-storey building contains a large auditorium, studios, teaching and administration facilities designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects Limited for Queen Mary’s University of London at its Mile End Campus. The new film and drama studio is clad in distinctive glass panels – digitally printed with artwork by the artist Jacqueline Poncelet.  QMUL is highly ranked amongst UK universities for the provision of arts and humanities courses.


Building Control

Oculus provided the building control services for the multi-million pound Humanities Building and assisted the Design Team with the challenging issue of ensuring the building was not affected by noise and vibration from the nearby underground system.  At foundation level the structure is effectively bearing on anti-vibration pads to limit noise and vibration migrating into the building’s structure.

Since 2002, Oculus has provided the building control services for many of the phases of the Mile End Campus student village, where award winning buildings have created 1,200 student rooms, restaurants, retail and other facilities. The Humanities Building is an important element of its on-going development and has pride of place prominently positioned on the Mile End Road – a main arterial route into central London.


CASE STUDY
Island Pavilion, Wormsley Estate

As the name suggests, the Island Pavilion is located on an island within the magnificent Wormsley Estate. The jewel-like building, clad with glass and metal, sits serenely in the historic landscape.  The private dining facilities within are used during the summer opera season for Garsington Opera who have a magnificent performance pavilion on the Wormsley Estate. To the design of architects Robin Snell and Partners, the attention to detail in all aspects of design and construction makes this building a modern addition to the estate. The Pavilion is designed to fit seamlessly with the topography of the island and take maximum advantage of the panoramic views across the lake.

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CASE STUDY
The Walronds, Cullompton

The Walronds is a Listed Grade 1 building erected in 1605. It was originally constructed as a dwelling house but has been used as a meeting house at ground floor level with a maisonette formed within the two floors immediately over the ground floor.  The building was on the English Heritage register of buildings at risk.  The proposal involved the renovation and conservation of the building which includes improvements to fire safety.

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CASE STUDY
University of Hertfordshire

  • Refurbishment and alterations of the Hutton Building and Hutton Hall, including multi-storey new-build Hutton-Hub student zone.
  • Refurbishment and extension of Prince Edward Hall.

To the design of Vincent and Gorbing and construction by Contractor Morgan Sindall in association with Stride Treglown as executive architects , the works included an extensive refurbishment of Prince Edward Hall to form a new Learning Zone and Refreshment Space. The end result is a stylish timber lined informal study and meeting area for students adjacent to a new café and seating area. Externally the building has been granite clad.

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