How do you solve a university challenge?

If you follow us on social media you might have noticed us popping up at various educational institutions across the country. We aren’t trying to sign-up for further qualifications, although we are learning more with each and every visit.

Although our background is in workplace design, we've never shyed away from branching out into new sectors. Over the past several years we’ve found ourselves firmly cemented in the world of University Estates.

From our experience, University Estates are often a rabbit warren of space - generally a mish-mash of old and new, big and small, fit-for-purpose and, well, "a-room-which-was-previously-unused-and-could-accommodate-some-students". Spaces are complex and disjointed, with years of lifting and shifting taking their toll. In all the inconsistency, one thing is consistent, however: University spaces are always changing.

As these spaces have grown and evolved over the years there has been a tendency to ‘land grab’ often with little time to take a step back and consider the jigsaw of buildings as a whole. Understanding what space is needed hinges on understanding what space is already there, which, in most cases, is much easier said than done.

Our collective experience means we are well-versed in understanding space, and crucially, translating what that space means. We’ve developed a raft of clever tools to help teams plug in existing data, plus forecast growth, to understand how a University Estate can flex for future needs. This digital wizardry, combined with our ever-growing experience, puts us in the privileged position of University Estates Experts. We’d prefer to think of ourselves as the people who make complex, simple.