Work underway on £6m sixth form college project

J Greenwood Builders is starting construction of a £6m teaching centre in Preston.The 13,000 sq ft St Catherine Building will house Cardinal Newman College’s expanding media and art departments and is due for completion in January 2025.Focused on further enhancing the college’s academic offering, the ‘art quarter’ will integrate TV and digital media departments with existing art facilities, while also providing eternal landscaped space.Designed to satisfy the requirements of the Department for Education specification of Net Zero in Operation, St Catherine Building will greatly reduce the energy required to operate and maintain such a structure.Adrian Rooney, managing director of Manchester-based J Greenwood Builders, said: “It’s a privilege to be working with Cardinal Newman College on this genuinely exciting and ambitious project.”The challenging logistics and highly technical design of the building are something our experienced team, supported by talented designers and our long-established and trusted supply chain, look forward to progressing.”A spokesperson for the College added: “We are delighted that work has begun on our new St Catherine Building. The building will be a fabulous addition to the College’s already excellent facilities, providing additional classrooms and studio spaces for our creative subjects, including Media, Photography and Graphic Design.”We are also really proud that this new build will also support the College’s carbon commitment, whilst providing state-of-the-art facilities for our students to work and learn in.”J Greenwood Builders has extensive experience of delivering schemes for the education sector, having completed projects for clients including Xaverian College and Loreto College in Manchester, the University of Manchester, Manchester High School for Girls and numerous schools throughout the North West of England.Other professionals working on the project include E3 Cube (employers agent); Appleyard & Trew (quantity surveyor); Ellis Williams Architects (architecture); WML Consulting (civil and structural engineer) and Crooks Walker Consulting (MEP engineer).