University of Greenwich Celebrates Centenary Of Higher Education with £14 Million Building Project
The University of Greenwich is celebrating the centenary of higher education at its Avery Hill Campus by opening a £14 million building project. Two new buildings have been named in honour of the former Vice-Chancellor, Dr David Fussey, and one of the early pioneers of the nursing profession, Mary Seacole.
The Chancellor, the Rt Hon the Lord Holme of Cheltenham CBE, formally opened the new buildings on Wednesday, December 13. He was joined by Glenys Lee, a former student of Avery Hill College, which was established on the site in 1906. She planted the first of 100 new trees to mark the centenary.
The centrepiece of the new scheme, the David Fussey Building, is the campus’s new sports and teaching centre. Alongside a 220-seat lecture theatre it has a large sports hall which bears the name of Madame Bergman Österberg, who founded Britain’s first physical education college in 1885, which later become part of the University of Greenwich. The hall will be used to train PE teachers and to provide leisure activities for staff and students.
Four clinical skills laboratories replicate real NHS wards, allowing trainee health care professionals to get hands-on experience of skills such as resuscitating patients and taking blood. The neighbouring academic block, the Mary Seacole Building, will be the main base for the School of Health & Social Care.
The new buildings have been designed by Dannatt, Johnson Architects, who have won awards for their work with the university. Designed to high standards of energy efficiency and sustainability, their new buildings fit sensitively with the rest of the campus including the neighbouring student village.
David Johnson, the lead architect, explains: “The buildings now form an attractive piazza-style courtyard, creating a focal point for this part of the campus. Throughout the scheme, we have used glass, brickwork and white render to create a sense of light and space. A particularly striking external feature is the lecture theatre in the David Fussey Building which has a sculptural appearance, with attractive curved walls clad in zinc.
“Inside, I hope that staff and students will find the buildings to be elegant and airy. The large windows offer unusual views across the rooftops of the campus to the park beyond.”
Tessa Blackstone, Vice-Chancellor, says: “One hundred years after the foundation of Avery Hill College, I am delighted that the university is still training teachers here on this site. The new buildings are lovely, with facilities that are right up to date, so that we can continue to meet the needs of our students and staff in the 21st century.”
For more information and images please contact Public Relations at the University of Greenwich on 0208 331 9420