Plans for York University student centre unveiled

Upside-down trapezoidal block to be built entirely from natural materials, design team sayA pairing of ADP Architecture and O’Donnell & Tuomey has submitted plans for a new student centre at the University of York.The six-storey building takes the form of an upside-down trapezoid and is intended to offer an “iconic new arrival point” on the university’s Campus West, the duo said.It will contain event spaces, collaborative study areas, TV and radio studios and a new home for the university’s student unions and support services, along with a cafe and rooftop garden.Planning approval has already been granted for the demolition of some existing vacant buildings on the site, with work to remove them set to start later this spring.Construction of the new block is slated to start next spring next year and complete by 2026 if the scheme is given the all clear.It will be built entirely from natural materials and renewable sources, the design team said, including reconstituted stone with plans for solar panels, rooflights and solar controlled glazing.The centre will also reach high sustainability standards including ‘net zero carbon’ accredited by the UK Green Building Council.Dublin-based O’Donnell & Tuomey designed the Victoria & Albert Museum’s east London outpost at Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which is nearing completion.ADP’s recent projects include a rooftop extension to the grade II*-listed Sir William Henry Bragg Building at the University of Leeds, which was shortlisted for a 2023 RIBA Yorkshire award.