Gilbert-Ash signs £47m Canterbury campus contract

Gilbert-Ash has won a £47m contract for the construction of a new four-storey building for Canterbury Christ Church University.The new building, set to open in 2020, is being built on the backlands of the former Canterbury Prison site.It will provide Canterbury Christ Church University with new teaching facilities for science, engineering, technology and health. It will also house the Kent & Medway Medical School, a shared initiative with the University of Kent.Hamilton Architects is multi-disciplinary project lead architects.Gilbert-Ash’s works will comprise the supply delivery and construction of a new four storey university building with concrete frame and flat slab construction, secondary steel support and complex brick elevations complete with glazing and curtain walling.Gilbert-Ash was awarded the contract on the back of its track record with the Fetal Medicine Research Institute at King’s College London and The Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London.Canterbury Christ Church University is investing £150m in campus improvements. A new Creative Arts Building was the first development to open as part of the 15-year plan. The?new £60m facility?for Science, Engineering, Technology & Health, being built by Gilbert-Ash, represents phase two.The conversion of Canterbury’s 19th century prison is planned as the final development.