Houghall Campus, East Durham College
As part of the College’s strategy to reinvigorate the campus and provide the best possible facilities for students and faculty, we were commissioned on an extensive programme of refurbishment and new-build works. These developments are a result of us working closely with the College to create a comprehensive masterplan and aid them in the funding and planning stages in order to achieve their long-term vision.
As the region’s leading land-based College, the new facilities cater for practical learning courses, ranging from agriculture, animal care, arboriculture and equine studies through to dog grooming and veterinary nursing. The scheme delivers an extensive and challenging refurbishment of the main entrance building, originally bult in the late 1930s. It was key to the college to retain the heritage and character of this central building of the campus whilst embracing a modern approach to teaching and provision of facilities including STEM laboratories, flexible teaching space, IT suites, and student informal teaching and café/breakout areas. The new build elements encompassed a new animal care centre, new agricultural buildings and associated external works and grazing paddocks. A key element was the new equine centre, including 24 stable block and impressive indoor arena.