The University of Plymouth is set to open its new £33m healthcare facility.
The Devon education institution has transformed its InterCity Place building which overlooks the city's railway station, into a space to train and develop the next generation of nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, optometrists and social workers.
Within the 11-storey building, students will hone their skills in brand new teaching facilities using a range of health technologies and digital innovations. The development is part of a University investment of almost £100m in teaching and learning that also includes cutting edge engineering and design facilities in the new Babbage Building.
The transformed spaces will welcome both new and returning students, from September 2023.
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Work on the InterCity Place project has been led by the Kier Group, which also constructed the University’s £17m Derriford Research Facility, opened by HRH The Princess Royal in May 2018.
Professor Judith Petts CBE, the University’s vice-chancellor, said: "It’s incredibly exciting to be able to take over this landmark building which offers so many opportunities for training our next cadre of health professionals. We are looking forward to our first students arriving in just a few weeks’ time."
The regeneration of the railway building, which first opened in 1962, also furthers the University’s commitment to sustainability, which saw it become only the second university in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ to secure carbon neutral status earlier this year.
Designed to SKA Gold standard, InterCity Place benefits from photovoltaic panels on its top deck and uses air source heat pumps linked to mechanical ventilation and heat recovery units in individual rooms. The facades have been replaced with a modern and thermally efficient rain screen incorporating vertical fins for solar shading, while 94% of the project’s construction waste was diverted from landfill.
The building’s completion marks the first major milestone in the Brunel Plaza development, being driven by a partnership involving the University, Plymouth City Council, Network Rail, and Great Western Railway, supported by the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership.
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