As the first phase of the college Masterplan prepared by ECE, this new three storey building forms a vibrant new entrance for the College campus, with a double height reception area and internal bridge link to the existing College building. The scheme provides a new hair and beauty training facility, together with a sustainable classroom where a learning platform cantilevered over the green roof provide facilities for retraining on renewable technologies. The building is designed to achieve BREEAM Excellent. Project Background The aim of the Project was to replace the single storey timber Nissan-type hut college buildings (dating from 1920s) with the construction of a 3 storey building of 1520m2 GIA hair, beauty and teaching facility, a new College entrance and reception area with associated external hard & soft landscaping works. The new 3 storey college building accommodates a double height College entrance atrium and main reception area, an internal bridge link to the existing College entrance building, hair and beauty reception area, training hair salons, training nail salon, training beauty salons, general teaching classrooms, and associated ancillary accommodation. Learner experience is substantially improved because students no longer have classes in substandard 1920’s accommodation. The new building will provide improved security and safety on the campus, and bring together the service to learners and the wider community. Design & Innovation The existing layout and usage of buildings on the site offered an excellent opportunity for redevelopment to the north eastern area of the campus while maintaining the operation of the College in their existing facilities. Following this development route provided a number of key advantages: the potential to link with the existing R Block, no requirements or cost for temporary accommodation, maintaining the existing pedestrian and vehicle access points, opening up the north eastern section of the campus to maximise visibility, and the opportunity for the College to promote itself to the local community. In order to ensure excellent links to the rest of the College campus it was considered important to locate the new college entrance in a visible and predominant location and to create an exciting and vibrant double height entrance atrium at the front of the site. The new entrance reception and student services areas are also located within and immediately off from this space. The internal designs for both the hair and beauty salons formed the starting point for the design of the building envelope. The final layouts are the result of extensive research and discussions with a wide range of consultees, and have enthused both the College staff and students who benefitted from the modern and stimulating learning spaces that this development will provide. Another exciting opportunity was to develop the new sustainable classroom as a building to be used as a ‘learning tool’ for the students and to promote the sustainability credentials of the College. The decision to locate the sustainable classroom in a predominant position at the front of the College campus was to create a visually exciting building form at this part of the site that would assist in the overall massing of this new development. Reactions from the staff and pupils of the college to the new development is that it is greatly admired and that it has vastly improved the College campus but also has had a profound impact on the local area by aiding the regeneration of this part of Worthing.