The Great Central Warehouse project is primarily a sensitive restoration of the existing warehouse, whilst adding sympathetic modern elements to key historic locations on the existing facades.

Both inside and outside, the Great Central Warehouse retains much of its original ambience: the beautiful brickwork has been cleaned and exposed, the iron and steelwork have been shotblasted and painted, the original winching gear has been cleaned and preserved and the existing roof lights have been reinstated to provide natural light on the top floor.

With its wide, airy expanses, the library still feels like a warehouse, though now its four floors are filled with books, CDs and computers rather than merchants' goods and supplies.

Complementing the original features are bold, modern touches. Where once there were timber loading bays to enable goods to be loaded into and out of the warehouse, there are now gleaming extensions of glass and charcoal concrete panels providing space for meeting rooms, IT labs and staircases.

On the eastern side of the building, where locomotives once emerged having passed through the warehouse, the University has created a glazed viewing area with a window seat overlooking the future path of the riverside boardwalk. Computer-controlled illumination highlights the cantilevered glass reading cube (the Worth Room) and four-storey glass staircase, creating a spectacular display denoting the new eastern gateway to the campus.