Temple Circus was the fifth project undertaken for the College of Law (now ‘University of Law’) in a rolling programme across the UK, to a tight construction programme and term deadline. An agreement to lease the ground and first floors of this major office building left the prospect of a limited street profile, and potential confusion for students, so an independent main entrance was agreed with the freeholder and constructed in a bold form on the main street façade.
Uniting the ground and first floors became a key design requirement, so as to encourage use of the ground floor library and promote staff interaction. A large section of the first floor slab was removed and the new stair arrangement helped create a lively and interesting new reception area, whilst still preserving around 2000m2 of G.I.A. across the two floors to allow for an economic fit-out. The first floor was fitted out to form the new teaching, study spaces and staff areas, with new mechanical and electrical systems throughout. A new café space at the head of the main access stair provides a convenient and interesting student social gathering space.