The School of Art and Design of the Nottingham Trent University

In 1836, a government run research study found that poor design standards across the country were forcing UK manufacturers to copy and buy foreign designs. In an aim to build and stimulate a strong national design industry to support a thriving manufacturing sector, the government created Schools of Design in localities with a strong manufacturing industry and the School of Art and Design of Nottingham Trent University was one of them.

Founded in 1843, the School of Art and Design of the Nottingham Trent University, has not only been a leading referent in the design sector influencing, inspiring and innovating for over 175 years but has also contributed to making Nottingham a creative hub, a prosperous city and has been key in the shaping of its social, cultural and architectural landscapes.

Award winning and internationally recognised architectural practice Hawkins Brown was selected for the design of the new School of Art and Design of the NTU and they produced an iconic and timeless design that gave the school a landmark status whilst respecting the neighbouring heritage buildings.

The 5,300 square metres building is designed around a glazed ground floor entrance which will be used as an exhibition space, providing visitors with an exciting sense of arrival and offering opportunity for collaboration within the university, industry and the local community, through social open learning spaces.

The building is planned to enable NTU to develop its creative industries offering by bringing new technologies for film, animation, UX design, gaming and graphic design and illustration together with traditional design practices and there will be dedicated spaces for visual communication, moving image and digital screen disciplines as well as a cafe, Digital Innovation Lab and Black Box Studio.

In order to satisfy all aspects that needed consideration for a project of such cultural and socio-economic importance, Hawkins Brown used an immersive approach for the design of the building that consisted of a design journey guided and shaped by a deep continuous holistic analysis and ensured all aspects of the design took into account all the characteristics of the project.

Many of the specialist facilities and teaching spaces within the building have specific requirements for controlled light for example. This is a particularity that was taken into consideration by the architects and the requirement for solid and glazed areas and their specific locations along the elevations are dictated by this factor precisely. Another aspect that makes the building an arts and design building is the fact that the large glazing sections are also designed to glimpse the buzz and activity associated with art offering an opportunity for displaying public art visible from the outside.

In line with their own company ethos and in order to comply with NTU’s whole-life zero carbon commitment, design architect Hawkins Brown together with Nottingham based project architect CPMG, have carefully evaluated the carbon impact of all the design choices aimed at achieving BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and DEC ‘A’ ratings and ensuring the building reaches a high standard for sustainability. 

More specifically, Hawkins Brown carried out an embodied carbon analysis where ceramic cladding panels showed lower embodied carbon figures than fibre cement, aluminium, GRC and profiled zinc panels.

Ceramic cladding exhibited a better embodied carbon profile than other façade materials however it also boasts robustness over the lifecycle of the building and has its own artistic and architectural merit, particularly significant in the locality. 

The architectural analysis of Nottingham and its history highlights the use of faience (glazed ceramic) in buildings across the city. The former Prudential Building in King Street, for example, is a grade II listed building that dates back to 1893-98 and which has a deep red terracotta facade and which has internal faience details, the Watson Fothergill’s office in George street built in 1895, features large terracotta decorative panels adorning the red brick façade, the former Boots Chemist Store in the High street it was built between 1902-05,  is a grade II listed building and depicts a glazed, deep buff terracotta facade and  33 Long Row is another grade II listed building built between 1910 and 1912 and which has a green and white striped faience tile facade.

The new School of Art and Design of the Nottingham Trent University comprises around 2,600sqm of terracotta cladding in a mix of a deep solid green glaze on the lower floors and a patinated finish to the upper floors. The cladding element to the ground and first floor is a M21-2022 Argeton profile tile which was adapted for vertical installation and the upper floors are a combination bespoke project specific M20-2022 and  M22-2022 and the vast majority of the project being the also bespoke wedge shaped M19-2022 Argeton profile. 

The ceramic panels are profiled to create a dynamic facade with a vertical rhythm only achievable with a very limited amount of materials of which ceramic was the most suited also thanks to its robustness and low maintenance and the great range of finishes and textures.

The £21M project is delivered by Bowmer and Kirland and Keyclad are the façade contractors. 

The project is currently on site with the cladding going on the wall and it is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2023.

Argeton terracotta is a leading cladding material worldwide and in the UK and it is one of the cladding solutions with a proven lowest embedded carbon in the marketplace. 

Argeton is CE and UKCA marked and one of the most tested systems in the market including a BBA and an EPD approved and not subject to any restrictions on building height or proximity to boundaries thanks to its Euro-class A1 Fire certification, it is no surprise Argeton is one of the materials of choice not only in new builds but also for refurbishment or re-clad. Durable and fully recyclable, ISO 14025 and EN 15804 (European BREEAM equivalent) certified, sustainability is at the heart of Argeton’s values.

The difference is Telling.