Keele University Medical Centre

Tarpey Woodfine Architects were appointed by Keele University to design a three-storey extension to the side of the existing David Weatherall Building – a centre for medical research and education at the entrance of the Keele University Campus.

The brief was to create extra office and meeting room spaces for university research teams and to find space for a large plant room and archive store. The natural slope of the site was utilised to create a basement level which contains the extra space required for the plant and store. The design of the building matches that of the existing, with similar materials and curved building segments, to create an extension that is both different and sympathetic to the original.

We worked as lead consultant on the project over a period of three years, with large client and consultant teams. The basement design required complex tanking and structural solutions which were made possible by specialist suppliers and contractors.

The construction phase was a demanding team effort, which enabled the delivery of the three-storey extension whilst maintaining a live working environment.