FAQs

The Forum is the most ambitious and challenging project within our capital development programme. It provides us with a stunning new £48 million centrepiece for the Streatham Campus. It features an extended and refurbished library, a new Student Services Centre, new learning spaces, catering and retail outlets, landscaped piazzas and a new University reception.

As the project progressed we have continued to to produce FAQs to try and answer questions surrounding the construction, operation and impact of the Forum. If you can’t find what you are looking for in the General, Arts and Culture or Sustainability FAQ, why not contact the Forum Team and we will do our best to answer your question.

How much is the Forum costing to build?

The budgeted total cost for the Forum Project is £48 million. Though this is a substantial sum, it is value for money given the complexity of the site, the quality of the new spaces and the extensive external landscaping to either side of the new building which includes remodelling Stocker Road.

How is it funded?

The £48 Million is being funded by a mixture of external bank loans, fundraising, lease premium from the student residences transaction and income from joint ventures. No government funding has been used nor is the project being funded by increased student tuition fees.

What will the Forum provide for students?

An extended and refurbished library
A new Student Services Centre
Extensive new learning spaces:
- Twelve seminar rooms
- 176 group study spaces
- Two 60 seat exploration labs
- Over 130 social study spaces
- 118 silent study places
- A 28 seat quiet study area
- Over 140 IT stations across 4 locations
- A superb 400 seat lecture theatre.
Enhanced and integrated facilities for the Guild of Students
New Toilets for Devonshire House
Two additional food outlets, a refurbished main kitchen for Devonshire House and improved bank and retail units
A new University reception
Landscaped external spaces linking major buildings and giving better service access for events in the Great Hall

What will the outside spaces be like?

Attractive new piazzas will be created each side of the Forum Building, including outside the Great Hall. These will provide opportunities for outdoor events and socialising. They will also create a more pedestrian focused feel to central campus. The piazzas will be Wi-Fi enabled and have feature terraces for use as seating, for graduation photos etc. The spaces have been designed to facilitate outside performance and activities as well as enhance the natural beauty of the existing arboretum to the south.

What will the new Student Services Centre include?

Over two floors, the Student Services Centre will provide students with help and support across the following key areas;

Accommodation
Employability
Counselling
Disability resources
Skills development
Guild student advice
International student support
IT helpdesk
Multi-faith chaplaincy
Registry
Student funding and finance

There will be a soft seating area with IT touchdown points, as well as a training room and interview rooms for the more confidential matters.

Why build the Forum now?

We wanted to improve the facilities that we offer to our students, staff and visitors, and for the centre of the campus to be more student-friendly: with more activity at evenings and weekends, and Wi-Fi enabled. The cost of construction projects fell as a result of the “credit crunch”, and though the increase in VAT next year will affect the project, this is overall a very good time to build. We think that the project will make an enormous difference to students and we are pleased that it is under way.

Will the Forum be open at evenings and weekends?

Like the library and many of our social spaces, the Forum Social areas will be open in the evenings and weekends, making the campus much more vibrant at these times. We will also be working with the Exeter Northcott and other partners to maximise the use of the new facilities, such as the lecture theatre. The opening hours of the Student Services Centre are being considered so that we can be more accessible for students with queries, but there will also be self service e-kiosks and a permanent presence at the front desk if anyone needs help out of hours.

Will there be bicycle storage?

There will be covered cycle storage by the new University reception; between the Great hall and the Student Services Centre; and near the southern entrance to the Forum. In addition there will be extra cycle hoops, and new shower and changing facilities in the Forum Building.

What is the roof made out of?

The roof is an undulating grid-shell, constructed from a network of glue laminated timber beams laid out in a series of triangles. Some are clad in ETFE, like the Eden Project, some are double glazed glass skylights, and some are highly insulated solid panels with acoustic soffits. The proportion of these materials and their position within the roof is what helps manage the amount of light and heat in the central space, the roof has been designed to achieve the optimum amount of day lighting, prevent overheating of the building in summer and reduce heat loss in the winter.

The solid roof panels will be made of naturally patinated copper standing seam, which is to be laid out in a series of steps to emphasis the triangular facets of the grid structure beneath. The copper will gradually weather from a bright new finish through a gentle brown to eventually reach a pale green.

What is open whilst the Forum is being built?

The library remains open 24/7 throughout the construction. The supermarket, Blackwell bookshop, the Guild Print Shop and the Nat West Bank have moved temporarily to the Queens Car Park where they are open as usual. In Devonshire House, the Guild shop, the RAM bar, and most of the catering outlets are open, however the main kitchen is closed while it is refurbished. The Great Hall and the Lower Exam Hall are also closed.

When will the Forum be open?

Floor -1 of refurbished Main Library opened in January 2011. The new toilet facilities serving the RAM bar in Devonshire House are now open so that students can already see the kind of facilities that the Forum will bring.

The new University Reception and Great Hall piazza are now open and have already been used for a number of key events. You can find out more about the receptions opening in the University news.

The contractors hand over the rest of the Forum Project in spring 2012.

How will you keep me informed about what is planned / what is happening?

We will keep the Guild up to date with developments, as well as putting information on the web for all students to access and sending important messages to students via email and Building news In Brief.