Refurb plans for Ditchburn and Right Hand lecture theatres
Thursday, 22 March 2018
Concept image demonstrating the style of the refurbished theatres.
Plans are in progress to modernise two lecture theatres within JJ Thomson, Whiteknights campus.
The Ditchburn and Right Hand lecture theatres will each undergo refurbishments that will transform the interior of the theatres, providing increased seating capacity and improving access arrangements. New seating, lighting and audio-visual systems will be installed, along with automated doors for ease of access. In addition, the lobby area will be extended to provide more circulation space.
The project is subject to Planning Permission at this stage, with the University looking to invest over £2.9 million into the improvements. Work is planned to begin in early spring, with the refurbished theatres ready to use from September 2018, in time for the start of the new academic year.
Care will be taken to ensure that the works will not affect exams taking place nearby JJ Thomson. The project team have consulted nearby schools to ensure that exams will not be affected by any work taking place. Particularly noisy work will be undertaken out of hours to minimise disturbance.
Significant extra capacity will be gained by incorporating the projection room into the main body of each theatre. This will be most noticeable in the Right Hand theatre where the capacity will increase from under 100 to over 170 seats.
The extension of the lobby area will be achieved by moving an IT store room which occupies the space between the theatres. A benefit of this is that there will now be two doors into each theatre, improving access.
The JJ Thomson refurbishments follow other recent modernisations on Whiteknights campus. In 2016, the Van Emden lecture theatre (Edith Morley) went through a similar refurbishment, which greatly improved the theatre’s facilities and increased seating capacity by 35%.
John Turner, Project Lead for the refurbishment, said: “I’m really excited about this project, which will transform the theatres by bringing them up to date. The Van Emden lecture theatre has become a really popular space following its refurbishment in 2016, and we hope to see a similar reaction for these two theatres when the project is complete.”
The Ditchburn and Right Hand refurbishments form part of the University’s ambitious 2026: TRANSFORM capital investment programme, which focuses on improving campus facilities and supporting the student experience.