Planning permission has been granted to transform the vacant Debenhams department store in the centre of Gloucester into a new sustainable City Campus for University of Gloucestershire. The adaptive re-use of the former department store by a multi-disciplined design team led by ADP will be a major catalyst in the reinvigoration of Gloucester’s high street and its wider city centre regeneration. The campus, which will anchor the University firmly in the community, is also set to house public health, wellbeing and cultural services, to create a thriving city hub.
The landmark Art Deco building sits in Kings Square, in the heart of Gloucester City Conservation Area. ADP’s plans will comprehensively renovate and modernise the five-storey, 20,000 m² 1930s building to create attractive high-tech spaces for teaching and learning, while providing a welcoming and inclusive public space. Discussions are also underway with Gloucestershire County Council to rehouse the city’s central library in the building.
The campus will eventually be home for both the schools of Education and Humanities and Health and Social Care, providing general and specialist teaching spaces, helping the University’s ambitious growth plans to increase student numbers. This in turn will help to meet NHS demand in programmes including Nursing, Mental Health, Occupational Health, Physiotherapy and Paramedic Science.
Drawing on knowledge of clinical environments from its work within the healthcare sector, ADP has designed realistic clinical environments, to deliver cutting-edge training and education facilities. These will include simulation paramedic facilities, wards, operating theatres, physiotherapy and outpatient spaces.
The retrofit project, which will make the most of the existing building envelope and structure, will also bring it up to today’s energy standards. ADP will improve the building fabric to maximise natural daylight and minimise excessive solar gain, and the practice will implement low carbon design features and technologies, including intelligent building systems for heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting. The campus will also have ample cycle facilities and accessibility has been a key consideration.
Throughout the design process, ADP has engaged a range of staff within the University, and worked in close partnership with student groups, including on the co-design of the new Students’ Union. Close engagement has also taken place with partners in the wider regeneration of Kings Square, to ensure the project integrates with both the existing cityscape and its contemporary developments.
The project will be implemented in two key phases. Planning has been received for phase one of the project, which includes a large lecture theatre / conference facility, teaching spaces, the university library, the Students’ Union, a public access café and county library. New exhibition and enterprise spaces are set to follow in the second phase, and discussions are also underway with NHS partners about a new health and wellbeing centre.
ADP will renovate and enhance the building’s iconic Art Deco elevations which face onto Kings Square and the city. This will include the restoration of the original metal panelling and concrete supports, and the exposure of previously hidden features, including decorative plasterwork. Internally, the architects will create a series of lightwells, forming a ‘social ribbon’ to connect and integrate the academic and community spaces.
The City Campus project forms part of a successful £20m bid from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund and is part of a wider, council-led, city centre regeneration scheme, including the redevelopment of Kings Square. By making Gloucester a major centre of excellence in health skills, the project will contribute to the city’s Covid-19 recovery, creating education and employment opportunities, and attracting and retaining talent in the region.
The City Campus forms a key case study in ADP’s recently published white paper, ‘Shopping for Health’, which looks at creatively adapting empty retail buildings to bring health services onto the high street. It also explores how projects like the City Campus proposal can increase capacity and accessibility to key services, while actively promoting health and wellbeing within the community.
Natalia Lopez, associate director at ADP comments:
“ADP is delighted to be involved in such a significant project for the University of Gloucestershire. This project will see the historic, former Debenham’s building in the heart of Gloucester city centre refurbished and revitalised to provide it with a connected, world-class new home. The campus will also be a home for community engagement and education.”
University of Gloucestershire vice-chancellor, Stephen Marston, said:
“Through regeneration and restoration, enabling the development of personal talents, creating more fulfilling lives, and complementing the ambitions of key local partners, we believe the University’s new City Campus will become an engine of growth and prosperity for many years to come.”