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Architects appointed for £7.5m Newcastle University Armstrong Building refurbishment

North East architectural practice Howarth Litchfield has been appointed to refurbish Newcastle University’s Armstrong Building. Valued at £7.5m, the project will begin in September.

The Grade II listed building’s refurbishment marks the final and largest phase of a redevelopment programme to provide a reinvigorated space for graduations and the school’s music department.

Once construction is complete, it will also provide a formal processional route from Queen Victoria Road through the Kings Hall to the internal refurbished courtyard and the main university campus.

Working as a sub-consultant to Turner & Townsend, the project manager for the scheme, Howarth Litchfield’s appointment is the latest in a long association with the university spanning some 25 years and 50 projects, two of which have recently included work in the Medical School and at the Centre for Ageing and Vitality on the former Newcastle General Hospital site.

Howarth Litchfield’s chairman, Gordon Brewis, is delighted that the firm is able to continue its longstanding relationship with the university on such a project.

He said: “To deliver the project, we will be providing architectural design, conservation consultancy, building surveying and interior design as well as using Building Information Modelling (BIM) throughout in the form of 3D Revit models to allow coordination with our consultants and to illustrate the detailed design to the various user groups.”

Its brief includes developing the concept design proposals prepared by the university’s design office, submitting planning and listed building consent applications, development of the design to obtain sign off from all the university user groups, preparation of building regulations and tender packages and monitoring of the construction phase through to completion of the project in September 2017.

Howarth continued: “The project is specifically programmed to be completed in two phases. The critical completion date for the refurbishment work to the Armstrong Building has been determined by the 50th anniversary of the visit by Martin Luther King to the Armstrong Building when he received his honorary degree from the university in 1967 - a major event is planned for November 2017 to commemorate this.

“This presents us with quite a challenge because several user groups and stakeholders must be involved in the design development, so it will be important to keep everything on programme. The boiler house completion, which will run in parallel, is also scheduled for completion slightly later in September 2017.”

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