Bayes Business School - City, University of London
Bayes Business School - City, University of London
Bayes Business School, formerly known as Cass Business School, is the business school of City, University of London, located just to the north of the City of London.
We established a long relationship with the School, which involved the construction of new, soundproof, rehearsal rooms and an auditorium for the Music School as well as the conversion of a former laboratory into new lecture theatres, which was contained within a post-tensioned concrete box. The conversion required the removal of the roof, a complex operation which involved melting the post-tensioning cables, with a new lightweight steel roof designed in its place.
Our most significant work was as lead structural engineers for the new 14,700m², £20m Business School building, completed in 2002 and designed by Bennetts Associates. This was a major project for City University, as the Business School was previously accommodated in cramped quarters high up in the Barbican.
For the structure, post-tensioned flat slabs – supported on high strength concrete columns – were adopted to make possible the 12 metre spans which were fundamental to creating large, flexible spaces for teaching. Steel staircases with exposed architectural detailing are an important feature of the end of the building facade. The thermal mass of the exposed slabs also assists the low energy strategy, which is based on displacement air supplied from a deep raised floor throughout the building. The target for the servicing of the building was to deliver an environment akin to a ‘City’ building for under half of the annual energy consumption.
“The building has not only been a very positive feature in terms of student recruitment and in improving our overall image in the City, but has been very supportive of academic staff recruitment and retention; the internal spaces promote the types of collaborative working methods we sought, as well as allowing for a very diverse range of private and semi-private spaces.”
Professor Clive Holtham, Professor of Information Management
Client: Cass Business School
Architects: Bennetts Associates