Construction on the new University of Leeds library has begun
Work began on Monday 19 August on construction of the new £27.5 million library facility for the University of Leeds, to be built by Shepherd Construction.
To mark the start on site, the Vice-Chancellor, Michael Arthur and Shepherd’s regional Managing Director, Kevin Donegan, met with the project team and with library staff who will be based in the new building when it opens to break the first piece of ground on the site.
The new undergraduate library will be the first city-fronting building that the University has commissioned for over 30 years and will be a highly sustainable landmark building which will provide an IT-rich and flexible facility for the University’s students.
The library, which is due to complete at the beginning of 2015, is designed to provide 1,000 reader seats, flexible training rooms, community classrooms and a café, plus flexible space for 6,800 linear metres of book stock.
Current provision for undergraduates will remain focused in the Edward Boyle building on the main campus until the new building is complete. The new facility will improve the current student experience and exceed new student expectations.
Michael Arthur, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, said: “The University of Leeds already has one of the best academic libraries in the country and the addition of the new undergraduate library will further enhance that. This is a major investment which will ensure that the University continues to provide an exceptional educational experience for our students and world-class facilities for our staff. It is a really exciting opportunity to do something different for our students and for the future.”
Kevin Donegan, Managing Director of Shepherd Construction’s North Region commented: “We are delighted to be working on this high profile project in Leeds, which will enhance the University’s facilities and provide their students with an exceptional learning environment. We are looking forward to working closely with the University, students and the local community throughout the construction programme, keeping them fully involved in the project as work progresses.”
This new facility is one of several facilities which Shepherd has been appointed to build at the University, having already been involved in the biosciences building, the student services building, the sports science buildings and the Garstang building over the last few years.
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