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Refurbishment Work

STYLES&WOOD WINS £8.6M UNIVERSITY LIBRARY REFURBISHMENT

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Integrated property services and project delivery specialist Styles&Wood has been appointed to carry out the £8.6m refurbishment of Lancaster University’s Library, designed by Sheppard Robson.

The renovation project, due to complete in January 2016, will regenerate the Library in line with Lancaster University’s status as a leading University. 

“Extensive consultation with the academic community at Lancaster generated remarkably consistent feedback that users valued their Library as a unique, serious academic study space.” said the University’s Director of Facilities Mark Swindlehurst.

“There had been a strong emphasis on sustainable innovation and it was the University’s commitment to the environment and to a sustainable future which inspired the approach towards redesigning the original 1960s’ building.”

The business’s Projects division will complete strip out and refurbishment works to the buildings East and West wings on a phased basis.  This will allow the ongoing use of the library, which is located in the university’s main campus and is a central resource for its 12,000 students.

The 72-week project will include creating a new atrium from the existing courtyard, the installation of new furniture and fixtures, mechanical and electrical upgrades and the reconfiguration of the building’s stairs and lifts.

Paul Lonsdale, Operations Director at Styles&Wood, said: “This is a significant win for Styles&Wood in a key growth sector for many of the group’s service lines, including our design, energy and projects divisions.

“We have secured £14.6m revenue in 2014 from the education sector.  This compares with our first year’s trading in this new area in 2012 of £4.0m and further enhances a strong portfolio of quality reference projects. As such, combined with our expertise in working in live, occupied environments, we are now in an excellent position to secure future projects as institutions continue to review their property estates.”

The appointment demonstrates the success of Styles&Wood’s strategic focus to further its reach into specialist markets, including the education sector, where it provides integrated property solutions across a range of primary, secondary, higher and further education refurbishment projects.