Barbara Hepworth Building University of Huddersfield, New Yorkshire Architecture, English Project News
Barbara Hepworth Building
Art, Design & Architecture Development in West Yorkshire, North England design by AHR Architects, UK
20 Oct 2020
Barbara Hepworth Building News
Design: AHR Architects
Location: Queensgate, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, northern England, UK
Barbara Hepworth Building wins major national award
20th of October 2020 – The University of Huddersfield’s Barbara Hepworth Building has been named as the Project of the Year at the prestigious Education Estates awards.
The eye-catching home of the School of Art, Design and Architecture won Project of the Year (Colleges and Universities) from the awards that are partnered with the Department for Education.
And the University also performed excellently elsewhere at the awards, with Sovereign Design House winning a Highly Commended in the Refurbishment of the Year category.
The Barbara Hepworth Building was completed in 2019, and features a dramatic flying cantilever design that has seen it quickly become a local landmark. Built on a sloping, canal side location that required a great deal of work prior to the building’s construction began, it has already won several awards including Constructing Excellence’s Building Project of the Year in 2019.
The University’s Acting Director of Estates and Facilities, Tim Hosker, commented, “We are proud of what we have created, embodying the town and looking aspiringly to the future, establishing Huddersfield as a premier design destination, made possible through the intuitive design of this exemplary facility.”
Sovereign Design House is a former bath house for foundry workers that was built in the 1950s on land adjacent to the Barbara Hepworth Building. It re-opened as a café, exhibition space and gallery earlier in 2020 following a restoration project that, like its neighbour, also involved partners in construction firm Morgan Sindall and architects AHR.
“The Sovereign Design House is fantastic addition to the University’s facilities and exhibition spaces,” said Nic Clear, Dean of the School of Art, Design and Architecture. “This beautifully developed project has preserved a unique building from Huddersfield’s industrial past by keeping exterior intact and retaining features from its original function as a factory bath house.
“It provides a vibrant public café and a gallery space that will help the School of Art, Design and Architecture showcase student and staff work, as well as providing an exciting opportunity to exhibit work from nationally and internationally recognised artists and designers.”
Previously on e-architect:
22 July 2019
Barbara Hepworth Building, University of Huddersfield
Design: AHR Architects
Location: Queensgate, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK
University of Huddersfield’s new £30 million Barbara Hepworth Building reaches completion
The new AHR-designed Barbara Hepworth Building is complete and has been celebrated with a royal visit from HRH The Duke of York, KG. The £30 million building, built by Morgan Sindall Construction, will house the School of Art, Design and Architecture, enabling these disciplines to be united under one roof for the first time in an exciting hub of creative studios and technology facilities.
The new building brings digital and physical innovation together in one space, epitomising the School’s philosophy and acknowledging millennia of creative practice whilst looking ahead to the future. The design sets the scene for spontaneous interactions, ideas and innovations within, sparking new ways of working that will push the boundaries of creativity and find collaborative solutions to complex challenges.
Anthony Langan, Director and Education Lead at AHR, said, “The School’s aspiration and our shared vision with the University was to bring together students and staff across different creative courses and generations. We achieved this by approaching the design of the building as one open and flexible learning hub that will catalyse creativity through interconnected working and learning spaces. This also includes more relaxed areas, such as the café and outdoor terraces, which allow important chance encounters and casual discussions to take place.
“As architects, it is a great honour to design an exemplary and inspirational building in which the architects, designers and creatives of the future will develop their craft. We are very proud of what we have created and look forward to the possibilities that will be realised through its use.”
Paul Limb, Project Director at Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “This project has been incredibly rewarding for our team to work on. We’ve developed a strong relationship with the University over recent years, and it’s been a privilege to welcome students on to the site to learn more about the complex construction process involved in creating incredible buildings like this. Through the use of cutting-edge technology we’ve been able to deliver AHR’s ambitious vision for the University and create a building befitting of Barbara Hepworth’s legacy, and one that is the perfect environment for the School’s students to nurture their crafts.”
The design team was inspired by the ancient art of origami, developing an innovative and iconic cantilever structure that addresses the site’s 5 metre level change, while celebrating its canal-side location by offering stunning views.
The façade boasts a unique laser-cut veil, each panel individually designed by AHR, inspired by textiles and the history of the neighbouring mills, but with a contemporary and abstract twist. The panels minimise glare and overheating, while the building’s transparency gives passers-by an intriguing glimpse of the creative processes and advanced technologies at work within.
A vast and airy entrance atrium provides a central navigation point and a powerful welcome. The Phidias Lab allows students from across the School to enjoy and showcase work in virtual design disciplines, with high performance visualisation and motion capture resources. Other bespoke facilities include the Materials Library, textile design studios, print and dye areas, workshop areas, postgraduate research space, lecture space, and studios for photography, graphic design, product design and fashion, with CAD computer laboratories.
Sustainability was a key driver in the design process, with the building designed to achieve BREEAM Excellent with an EPC rating of A.
In order to bring AHR’s vision to life, Morgan Sindall Construction deployed cutting-edge digital construction and mixed-reality technology to enable its team to better examine the project as it developed, with 3D laser scanning proving crucial during the construction of the building’s audacious cantilevered structure. The use of Microsoft Hololens also enabled the project team to inspect and complete walk-throughs within a projection of the building in order to undertake surveys and risk assessments of the project as it developed, which proved crucial to the safety and smooth running of the scheme.
The building’s completion marks another successful project by AHR for the University of Huddersfield. The practice has completed a broad range of work across the Queensgate Campus, including the design and delivery of the £27 million Oastler Building – also built by Morgan Sindall Construction -, the extensive remodelling and refurbishment of the Joseph Priestley Building, and the conversion of the historic Sir John Ramsden Court from flats into University office accommodation.
AHR was shortlisted for Higher Education Architect of the Year in the 2019 BD Architect of the Year Awards and has won two RIBA Regional Awards this year.
28 Nov 2018
Barbara Hepworth Building in Huddersfield
Barbara Hepworth Building at the University of Huddersfield
Architects AHR attend topping out ceremony for University’s new £30m building
28th of November 2018 – As the five-storey, 7,500 square metre Barbara Hepworth Building takes shape, the University was pleased to welcome AHR’s Gurminder Sanghera and Andrew France and Dr Sophie Bowness, granddaughter of Wakefield sculptor Barbara Hepworth, to the ‘topping out’ ceremony.
Construction of the University of Huddersfield’s new £30 million centre for the study of art, design and architecture is months ahead of schedule, and it has witnessed an unusual “topping out” ceremony conducted by the granddaughter of Dame Barbara Hepworth, the famous artist who has given the building its name.
Dr Sophie Bowness – who is an art historian and a trustee of the world-famous Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield – was invited to turn a bolt on one of the 146 aluminium panels that will be fixed to the glazed walls of the new building. Their function will be to reduce solar glare, but architects AHR have ensured that they are also an artistic adornment.
One of the great sculptors of the 20th century, Barbara Hepworth, who lived from 1903 to 1975, was born and educated in Wakefield. She was the first choice to be commemorated by the new University of Huddersfield building and at the topping out ceremony Vice-Chancellor Professor Bob Cryan thanked Dr Bowness for giving permission to use her grandmother’s name.
The ceremony was attended by AHR’s Regional Director Gurminder Sanghera and Director Andrew France. AHR were the architects behind the University’s £28 million Oastler Building, opened in 2017, which was announced as the Best Education Building at the West Yorkshire Local Authority Building Control Awards.
AHR Director and Education Sector Lead, Anthony Langan, said: “The University is investing heavily in its estate, creating world-class facilities for students and staff. We are proud to once again be working with the University on another iconic building.
“This will be a dynamic building which reflects the artistic and innovative work of the departments based within it. Facilities will include cutting-edge design and construction studios, fine art studios, CAD computer laboratories, lecture rooms, research space, a library and café.”
Barbara Hepworth Building at the University of Huddersfield images / information from University of Huddersfield
Another University of Huddersfield building on e-architect:
Oastler Building at the University of Huddersfield
Design: AHR Architects
image courtesy of architects
Oastler Building at the University of Huddersfield
Address: Queensgate, University of Huddersfield, Yorkshire, northern England, HD1 3DH, UK
Phone: +44 1484 422288
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Website: University of Huddersfield