Uni arts centre to open as part of £150m masterplan

Facilities for media, music and design students set to launch

A £15 million creative arts centre at Christ Church University in Canterbury is due to open this month following delays caused by technical difficulties.

It will become the new home for students studying a range of media, music, film and design courses.

It is the first of a phased project and part of the university’s £150 million estate masterplan, designed to create “a campus for the future”.

The ground floor will offer sociable space, including for exhibitions and small gigs.

Above it will be a central reading room alongside specialist facilities including rehearsal and performance rooms, recording and sound studios, dark rooms and Mac labs.

A feature of the new building, which has been designed to respect its historic foundations, is a glass floor revealing exposed sections of the original St Augustine’s Abbey wall.

The university’s deputy director of estates and facilities, Stephen Hawkins said: “The building will provide state-of-the-art learning space and technology to provide our students with the best environment for their studies. It will house the specialised facilities that the schools require covering music practice, rehearsal, recording and performance, as well as graphic design, web design, multimedia design, digital media, illustration and photography.”

Next to take shape in the masterplan will be a £60 million “flagship” building which will bring together science, engineering, technology and health facilities.

The university has just appointed Gilbert-ash as the main contractor and the site is due to open in 2020.

The final project in the 15-year plan will be the conversion of the former Victorian Canterbury prison, which it bought in 2014 to expand and provide a social space and heritage centre.