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University of Reading

Status update on URS Building redevelopment project

Monday, 11 July 2016

URS Redevelopment update

We are currently waiting for a decision to come through from Heritage England and DCMS on whether the building is to be listed.

Last June, the University announced that the URS Building would be undergoing a major refurbishment set to begin January 2017. 

As the URS Building is an example of Brutalist architecture, our initial design proposals are currently under review by Heritage England. Their assessment will recommend whether or not the building should be listed. Once Heritage England complete their review, a recommendation will be passed over to The Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) 

As a result, the redevelopment project is currently awaiting confirmation of the decisions made by Heritage England and DCMS.  If a decision is made to list the building, we may need to revise the redevelopment plan so that original features can be preserved in their current form.  Meanwhile, a pre-planning application has been submitted to Reading Borough Council. The full planning application will be submitted once we have received a decision from DCMS - if appropriate, listed building consent will be also submitted as part of our planning application.

We anticipate a decision to be reached later this summer.  

Aim of redevelopment

The refurbished URS Building will house the School of the Built Environment (School of Construction Management and Engineering; School of Architecture) and the School of Arts and Communication Design (Department of Art; Department of Typography and Graphic Communication). 

The £35 million redevelopment seeks to bring together our creative departments under one roof. With the URS Building becoming one of the most creative and exciting spaces of our Whiteknights campus. 

During the refurbishment, School of Construction Management and Engineering (SCME) will be relocated from the URS and Engineering Buildings into the Chancellors Building, a new purpose-built temporary teaching space. SCME is scheduled to move into the Chancellors Building in December 2016, in time for the start of the 2017 spring term. Further details on these plans will follow shortly. 

General project timeline

The indicative timeline of the project is as follows, subject to planning permission and listing status:

  • Winter 2016: SCME decant from URS and Engineering Buildings in December recess. Begin Spring 2017 term in Chancellors Building. 
  • Q4 2016 –Q1 2017: Enabling works.
  • Q3 2017 –Q3 2019: Main construction. 
  • Q3 2019: Move into URS Building. 

Chancellors Building 

The Chancellors Building has been created to provide additional teaching and resource space during major redevelopment works. The first occupants will be students who were previously taught in the URS building, as well as academic space for SCME. 

A home away from home, the Chancellors Building will incorporate many of the specialist features of the URS Building, including a new BIM lounge and an immersive virtual reality ‘CAVE’ that will enable students to interact with 3D digitised environments.

The Chancellors Building is conveniently located down Chancellors Way, which is approximately 5 minutes away from the URS Building. It is centrally located and is in easy reach of all key facilities of our Whiteknights campus. 

    We will provide further updates on the project as early as we can. In the meantime, please visit our live projects information page here.