£1.6m refurbishment enhances student experience at University of Westminster

Willmott Dixon Interiors has delivered a £1.6 million refurbishment project at the University of Westminster that will provide multi-purpose space for students.

The national fit-out and refurbishment specialist contractor has repurposed and refurbished the ground and lower ground floors of the Cavendish Building at the university’s 115 New Cavendish St. campus.

The project has delivered 8,500 sq ft of flexible and engaging space within the building’s CSE Innovation Centre.

The space has been designed to switch use between a 40-seater programming lab with clustered group work areas and an exhibition area for open days, outreach and other collaborative work. It will also be used to showcase student work, research posters sessions and presentations, and act as additional meeting space.

Willmott Dixon Interiors has reconfigured the computing labs on the ground and lower ground floors, including an MEP and lighting upgrade.

On the ground floor, three existing rooms have been repurposed to create a new, single and accessible open plan area for work-based learning, with non-structural walls removed to enlarge the space.

The building benefits from a new heating and cooling system, improving its thermal efficiency, as well as new lighting, flooring and stowable furniture and a new AV system, including the latest display technology for wireless projection.

The project was procured through the Southern Construction Framework and was delivered by Willmott Dixon Interiors and a project team comprising Fusion Project Management, Stride Treglown as architect, Gleeds as quantity surveyor, and services engineer, Hoare Lea and Partners.

Graham Shaw, managing director at Willmott Dixon Interiors, said: “This is an exciting project that has re-imagined the space across two floors of the Cavendish Building at the University of Westminster. We have created a highly engaging and multipurpose workspace that delivers enhanced teaching and learning facilities to enrich the student experience and showcase the School to potential applicants.”

Joanna Prusiewicz at the University of Westminster said: “Willmott Dixon Interiors has delivered a fantastic project. Despite a very restricted programme in an occupied building, they completed the works on time. Their team was very professional, proactive and hardworking. They showed great collaboration with the building users and provided regular updates on the progress. The Innovation Space is superb and will attract a lot of students and visitors. I will be very happy to work WDI again in the future.”

James Wright, senior framework manager at Southern Construction Framework (SCF), said: “We are extremely pleased that this project has been successfully delivered, it has really highlighted the benefits of the SCF’s collaborative process and I am sure the students will enjoy their new state of the art facilities.”

Willmott Dixon Interiors has delivered a wide range of projects across the higher and further education sectors. The contractor is currently completing a £39 million refurbishment at London South Bank University’s London Road Building and delivered the design and refurbishment of space across the Waterlooville Campus at Havant & South Downs College.  

The contractor was recently chosen to deliver the £3.9 million refurbishment of the Wulfruna Building and Alan Turing Building at the University of Wolverhampton.