A state-of-the-art building on University Park campus has won a National Award from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

The Teaching and Learning Building has been recognised with the prestigious award for its significant contribution to architecture.

Features of the building, which opened in late 2018, include a number of teaching rooms and classrooms, multiple individual and group study spaces and a computer lab. Other features include a 306-seat lecture theatre with triple projection and a learning lab, both with Windows Surface Hubs.

RIBA explained: “The Teaching and Learning Building is arranged around a simple idea of maintaining key circulation routes through the campus that also connect to a series of teaching blocks around a central atrium. These blocks are then pushed and pulled to relate to the building’s neighbours, a 20th Century villa and the Hallward Library.

“The entire building is set out on a rigorous one metre grid. A white terracotta tile rain screen, whose depth of reflection and subtle colouration continually changes as light falls on each elevation, defines the upper façade of the blocks. Below a datum line, that is set out from the neighbouring library, the plinth is detailed in finished masonry. These materials have been chosen carefully and the building should age gracefully because of it.” Read the full description here.

The Teaching and Learning Building was put forward for the accolade after winning a Regional Award and a Special Award for Sustainability at the RIBA East Midlands 2019 awards last month. The East Midlands ceremony also saw a University of Nottingham student, Ross Burns, be awarded one of two RIBA East Midland Student Awards for 2018, for his project The Isle of Awakening.

Ross’s work had been described by RIBA judges as: “A standout submission representing a high-quality Part 1 design that met all aspects of the student awards brief/criteria. A range of traditional hand drawings and models woven into a series of story boards illustrating a clear understanding of place and context. The design displayed a strong tectonic approach to materiality and architectural expression.”