Bournemouth & Poole College, Performing Arts Centre

The Bournemouth & Poole College has a fabulous new teaching complex at its North Road site in Poole after a “construction schedule that worked like clockwork with no disruption to college life and studies.”

The new building replaced temporary cabins used as classrooms since the 1970s.

Final part of jigsaw

This was the final part of a £25 million programme across both Poole and Bournemouth sites that saw the creation of many new dedicated centres including a STEM Centre (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), Marine Technology Centre, Financial Services Centre.

The new campus facility at North Road houses 44 new teaching spaces, including four laboratories for Health and Science and a forensic science investigation room. Other facilities include:

• Digital Media Suite complete with a digital green room and Mac suites.
  
• New 136-seat theatre, rehearsal spaces and dressing rooms.
  
• Base for Wessex Youth Orchestra with practice facilities
  

College Principal Diane Grannell said:

“This magnificent new teaching complex will provide an excellent array of teaching facilities in Health, Science, Music, Media and Performing Arts set in a pleasant environment for both staff and students. A new generation of students and our dedicated staff, as well as the wider community, are about to benefit from this investment in modern equipment and facilities.”

Willmott Dixon’s role

As contractor, we worked closely with the college amid a busy campus to ensure it was delivered to time and budget with no adverse effect on college life. This also included using local suppliers whenever possible and engaging extensively with the college principal.

Ken Roberts, Executive Director of Resources at the College, co-ordinated the project. He said:

“This area of our North Road site needed investment and we are really proud of what we have achieved. The building is a real credit to Willmott Dixon; the construction schedule worked like clockwork with no disruption to college life and studies.”

High energy ratings

Energy efficiency and sustainability are key themes, with electricity partly supplied via photovoltaic cells on the roof which helped the building gain an energy rating of ‘excellent’ by BREEAM