The first element of the Big Build to be completed, our new Car and Bike Parking facility, is on track to open in early August.

As well as car parking, the new facility includes a new cycling hub with over 300 secure bike spaces, lockers, showers and bike maintenance station in addition to electric vehicle charging points.

The new facility replaces all existing surface parking on the campus and features living ‘green walls’ that will mature over the next couple of years.

The Big Build is moving up a gear over the next couple of  months with a lot happening on campus:

• The first tower cranes are being installed on the site of our new student accommodation this month with the new structures on track to start coming out of the ground during August
• The new car and bike parking facility is the first part of the development to open on 1 August
• Work on the new academic building is due to start from September

In the second of our Big Build public lecture series, Nidhi Baiswar, Head of Sustainable Design and Construction at Bouygues UK will discuss sustainability in the construction industry, changing standards, related challenges and opportunities. She will focus on how Bouygues UK has accepted these challenges and successfully implemented measures to mitigate and adapt on their projects.

The event is free and open to all. Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sustainability-in-the-construction-industry-challenges-and-opportunities-tickets-60808553019

The Big Build is providing an incredible ‘living classroom’ for our students and a wide range of opportunities to engage with the many companies involved in the delivering the project – from architects to engineers, and lawyers to construction managers.

Thanks to our many Big Build partners we are putting together an amazing programme of student engagement, including:

• 1-year placements for graduates and current students
• Shorter 3-month placements for current students
• Site visits
• Specialist lectures
• Seminars
• Live projects/case studies

The programme will run throughout the entire period of the Big Build.

An audience of over 140 attended the first in our ‘Big Build’ public lecture series to hear from the lead architect behind the overall masterplan for the Moulsecoomb campus and Preston Barracks development.

Julian Gitsham, Principal with international architects HASSELL, gave an engaging and detailed overview of how the vision for the masterplan was developed and refined over a period of several years.

You can watch the lecture here: https://mediastream.brighton.ac.uk/Player/63028173

Work on our landmark new academic building is scheduled to begin this June.

When completed, in spring 2021, the new building will provide a state-of-the-art home for the Brighton Business School as well as modern, flexible teaching spaces for other Schools on the campus. The building will also provide public exhibition and events spaces and will be a hub for collaborative projects with local businesses.

Work is now in full swing on the site of our new student accommodation and related facilities.

Ground works will be completed by early summer with the main construction phase beginning in June.

When completed, in summer 2021, the new student village will provide:

• 800 student bedrooms in five purpose-built accommodation blocks
• Students’ Union facilities, including an events space and bar
• Gym facilities and fitness suite

With no planned increase in student numbers the development will help to reduce pressure on local housing, whilst students living on campus will also benefit from new cafes and other outlets opening on the neighbouring Preston Barracks development.

Our new multi-storey car park will be the first of the new Big Build structures to be completed when it opens this summer.

The new facility will be a new transport hub for the Moulsecoomb campus and will provide:

• 551 car parking spaces (exactly replacing the number of spaces on campus prior to the development)
• Electronic vehicle charging points
• 300 secure bike storage spaces
• Lockers and showers for cyclists

The remaining works, which will include external cladding, will be completed over the next few weeks. Once completed, vertical planting up the exterior of the structure will help it to blend into the neighbouring Watts bank.