The Student Life and Sports Building at John Moores University, Copperas Hill, Liverpool
Developer: Barton Willmore (Stantec)
Architect: Sheppard Robson
Primary Contractor: Morgan Sindall
Design and Engineering:In partnership with Smart Crosby International Limited
In 2018, we were approached by leading architectural firm Sheppard Robson to provide GRC products for the £65m development of the five-storey 9,500m2 Student Life Building and two-storey 4,000m2 Sports Building at Copperas Hill, Liverpool, which would form part of a new campus for Liverpool John Moores University.
The Student Life building, situated in the city centre, saw all administration, student advice and wellbeing, and careers services move to a single location, and also provides a new home for the student union, JMSU. Meanwhile, the Sports Building houses indoor competition sports facilities designed to Sport England standards, including an eight-court badminton hall and two multipurpose halls.
Externally, the buildings are linked by a colonnade sheltered walkway which also makes use of GB Architectural’s GRC header panels and engineered brick piers. In total, we manufactured more than 1950m2 of GRC for this project.
The Student Life and Sports buildings at LJMU opened in 2021.
What the architect says:
Alex Solk, Partner, Sheppard Robson: “Copperas Hill is a significant site that regenerates a previously inaccessible part of Liverpool city centre. The new buildings and public realm form a civic gateway to the university with the buildings and spaces reinforcing LJMU’s role as an anchor institution in the city. The two linked buildings use their architecture and interiors to make student learning and support services more accessible than ever with the ambition to make the facilities part of the students’ daily life.”
What our Managing Director says:
“This project was our first ever for Morgan Sindall. The stakes were sky high as they had previously had unsatisfactory experiences with other GRC cladding providers – in terms of product quality, deliveries and cost.
“We concluded our supply contract on time, on budget, with everyone involved being delighted with the highly intricate bespoke GRC panels.”
