University of Northampton Waterside Campus

After rapid growth, the University of Northampton, a town centre campus, urgently needed more space and the proposed solution was to transform a 58-acre brownfield site in the Northampton Waterside Enterprise zone. The University’s vision was to create a community-based campus with multiple facilities for its 15,000 students.

Challenge

A site of this size and scale had to ensure there was sufficient infrastructure to serve a modern university site. Additionally, the campus had to be fully operational and ready for new residents by September 2018 – which was a very tight time scale when the project was commissioned.

Solution

The design included connecting new 500kVA and 800kVA transformers to the client’s existing HV infrastructure and systems with more than 120 distribution boards. The work was undertaken collaboratively within the design team to ensure the design aligned with the strict budget. The entire project was undertaken in BIM level 2, led by Kier Construction.

Outcome

The residential zone of the campus is located adjacent to the new learning and teaching buildings, incorporating a variety of additional facilities for access to the community. This includes a small hotel, health centre, multi-faith chaplaincy, a bank and a convenience store.