Bangor University Pontio Building, Welsh Education Building, Project, Design

Bangor University, Wales : Pontio Building

Education Development Wales, UK - design by Grimshaw, Architects

20 Jan 2011 Bangor University Pontio Construction begins at Bangor University’s Pontio Design: Grimshaw Construction has commenced on the Grimshaw-designed Arts and Innovation Centre at Bangor University. Grimshaw was appointed to the scheme – also known as the Pontio project – in September 2009, together with other members of a strong design team including Atkins (engineering, environmental, fire), Arup (Theatre and Acoustics) and Gillespies (Landscape). The Pontio project received planning permission in July 2010, and has recently been awarded £27.5m from the EU’s Convergence European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Assembly Government. The new centre is due to open in Spring 2013. images from Grimshaw The design responds to the site’s complex location, straddling, as it does, an area between the lower and elevated parts of Bangor city centre, and sitting well within its environment. The building itself will house a 450-plus seat theatre, a ’white-box’, a rehearsal studio, teaching rooms, a cinema and an outdoor amphitheatre. Exciting social areas for the centre include new Student Union facilities as well as bars, cafes and restaurants, which will be integrated with external areas as an extension to the adjacent College Park. Pontio’s public performance spaces will also become a major focus for Welsh culture, designed to provide pioneering and inspirational platforms to showcase local and international music, dance and theatre, as well as engaging new talent. Pontio will include an 'Innovation Hub' that will support collaborative design approaches between the university and local businesses. Throughout the centre, new teaching and social learning spaces will provide high quality modern educational environments that will benefit students, promote community engagement and support business. High-tech showcasing facilities will enable work to be displayed using the latest in digital technology. As well as providing state-of-the-art amenities for the University, the project offers a unique opportunity to contribute to a wider urban strategy; one of the centre’s key aims is to strengthen the relationship between the city and the university by unifying the two main campus areas of upper and lower Bangor. The project will generate hundreds of jobs in North Wales and will further benefit the region by developing new businesses as well as creating opportunities for existing companies. Bangor University Pontio Building images / information from Grimshaw Grimshaw

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Bangor University Pontio Building : page - adrian welch / isabelle lomholt

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