Students at Ulster University’s new state-of-the-art Belfast campus will look out at centuries of history from a building set to last 300 years.
The next generation of learners will be able to take in the Belfast hills and the steeple of St Patrick’s Church on Donegall Street through some of the 22,000 sq metres of glass that defines this landmark building.
Staff and researchers inside will never crave daylight in offices that look inward to one of five atriums that allow sunshine to stream into open space a far cry from the dusty halls of academia some might remember from their uni days.
Brushed cement walls blend seamlessly with red brick - reflecting the Victorian heritage that surrounds the building - while glass and wood blend warmth and light to create an environment university bosses hope will be an “inspiration” to students set to fill these airy halls with chatter and awe in the coming weeks.
The building, and all its various blocks, is so vast lecturers and students alike will have the help of ‘campus navigators’ who will act like sixth form prefects ensuring new-starts don’t get lost. But if they do, the place is awash with spaces more than agreeable to rest one’s weary head. Soft-seating areas with ‘picture windows’ framing the city’s Divis Mountain and Cavehill are many and a roof garden boats trees planted in aid of City Hall’s One Million Trees plan.
And if you need to use Google to get out of a building that is 75,000m2, WiFi on campus is so powerful it can support 25,000 people using five devices at once.
Speaking ahead of the start of the academic year, Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Bartholomew said: “Our new campus will foster creative talent, scientific expertise and enquiry, engineering innovation and entrepreneurial drive all under one roof, and marks a milestone for those who study with us, work with us and partner with us. It drives forward a reimagining of the teaching and learning experience that is deployed across all our campuses, including recent enhancements first introduced at Magee and Coleraine, accelerating innovation in how we do things and ensuring implementation of best practice.
“It’s a campus where our students will fulfil their potential and thrive, with the opportunity to learn and study in a style that suits them, supported by the very latest technology and facilities. It also offers our staff a quality and vibrant place to work, connected to the social, artistic, residential and business community in the area.
“Our campus was one of the few building projects to have remained operational throughout the COVID- 19 pandemic, underlining the tremendous, shared commitment to deliver this project for the incoming academic year. The Belfast campus development has been a huge team effort since its inception and never more so than in these last few months.
"I want to pay tribute to the dedication and effort of the architects, contractors, countless skilled craftspeople and tradespeople, and the very many colleagues who have worked tirelessly over the years to bring this transformational campus to fruition. Their collective vision, skill and effort are evident around us as we settle in over the weeks and months ahead.
“The campus will be a home not only to those staff and students who will work and study here, but also to colleagues from other campuses and our many external partners who will now bring to life this truly remarkable campus in the city centre.”
The University says the campus project is part of their ‘commitment to social mobility, civic engagement, and shaping career potential’, adding that ‘the equivalent of over 100 years of training, apprenticeships and placement opportunities have already been provided during the construction phase’.
A spokesman added: “Social clauses included in the contract as a condition of the build programme focused on supporting the long-term unemployed, student work placements, and apprenticeships in areas such as mechanical and electrical work, quantity surveying, procurement and supply chain management, accountancy, construction and administration.”
They add that the campus ‘will make a lasting impact on the communities of neighbouring North Belfast, with the University actively involved in projects as a community partner and providing an accessible pathway into higher education’.
When the 2022/23 academic year starts this month, UU says, the new Belfast campus will welcome over 15,000 additional staff and students to the city, offering a ‘progressive student experience benefitting from innovative learning spaces at the forefront of higher education practice’. The University says that the building has been planned to last 300 years.
The University says the first three floors of the building will be open to the public and that it is ‘consulting with 3,500 nearby households to plan a series of engagements and activities for the community as the campus opens’.
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