Creating a multipurpose space in a flagship university redevelopment

How the University of Gloucestershire are transforming a disused building into an elegant, modern space for learning and events

The University of Gloucestershire are midway through an exciting and ambitious renovation of City Campus, changing an impressive five-storey town-centre retail unit into a modern teaching space. The renovation has transformed Gloucester City Centre, breathing new life into what was a vacant space and adding the bustle of hundreds of students a day to the King’s Square area.

A key focus for the renovation project was the building’s ground floor. Originally planned to be a library, the Facilities Team realised that since it fronted onto the town’s centre point of King’s Square, with a full wall of glass displaying the interior, it needed something a little more special.

Student induction takes place in the ground floor area of City Campus, while on the other side of the ThinkingWall acoustic whiteboard unit a small team conduct a planning meeting

The Facilities team wanted something flexible, to ensure that the space was multipurpose

The team decided to create a large teaching space on the ground floor, which would be surrounded by breakout areas for students. Sam Williams, Facilities Manager, was keen for this to be a visually appealing active space appropriate for teaching large groups with plenty of writing surfaces and repeater screens. The space also needed to be suitable for smaller group meetings and tutorials so it was important that the furniture could adapt to the requirements of a range of different groups.

Outside of term-time, the University plan to offer the space to the public for external conferences and events; again, it was important for the space to be able to flexibly support a varied range of bookings.

“ThinkingWall is the ideal solution for Higher Education. As a space manager you want the flexibility and something that’s robust and durable. People [staff and students] can move it themselves and they love that ability to link bits together and make the space their own.”
– Sam Williams, Facilities Manager, University of Gloucestershire

ThinkingWall was a tried-and-tested solution

The University had previously installed a small amount of ThinkingWall to create a flexible Careers Studio within a library space. It worked perfectly. ThinkingWall panels gave some definition to the area while the lack of full height walls or doors meant that staff and students felt comfortable ‘drifting in and out’ of the space. One of the panels featured an AV unit which was helpful for sharing notices and advertising the University and any upcoming events.

Since install, the Careers Studio has proven to be a very busy and well used area of the library; “using ThinkingWall for the Careers Studio has been very successful: students and staff are very happy with it”, says Williams. When the Facilities Team started finalising their plans for City Campus, Williams knew immediately that ThinkingWall was the right choice.

ThinkingWall units divide a library to create a Careers Studio. To the reverse of one whiteboard unit is an AV screen, displaying university advertising.

Procurement was straightforward

With confidence in the product, sell-in to stakeholders was reasonably straightforward. Then, Williams faced a refreshing absence of procurement issues in completing his purchase: “there’s a uniqueness argument – we’ve checked the market and ThinkingWall is the only product that fulfils our requirements completely.”

“The web animation is a brilliant way to explain how ThinkingWall works and was really useful for explaining the product and getting buy-in from stakeholders.”
– Sam Williams, Facilities Manager, University of Gloucestershire

Williams also discussed how durability was a key consideration in the purchase of ThinkingWall: “if you know its going to last and be well used during its lifespan, that makes it a sustainable choice.”

Installation took place over the summer

ThinkingWall was installed in the flagship space of the University’s new student centre and had to be ready for mid-September, when the students arrived for their new term. “The install went super smoothly, as ThinkingWall is largely finished off-site so it’s just a case of rolling it in”, explains Williams.

ThinkingWall panels divide a space for a small lecture-style teaching session while two University of Gloucestershire staff use a smaller space to discuss the start of term

Once the panels were in place, the University of Gloucestershire’s AV team connected their systems. Since the Logovisual team had already prepped and pre-cabled the ThinkingWall units, the University AV team simply needed to plug in their mini PCs and configure them to the network. By the start of term, the finishing touches were complete and City Campus was ready to host its first teaching sessions.

A simplified diagram indicates the shape of the ThinkingWall units installed by the University of Gloucestershire, along with example configurations for different group sizes and requirements.

ThinkingWall units divide a large space, allowing students to relax in a breakout area while a more focussed tutor meeting takes place. Acoustic panels on all units reduce ambient sound for better concentration.

The Ground Floor of the University of Gloucestershire’s City Campus now acts as a hub for teaching, collaboration and events

One month into term, City Campus is fulfilling what it set out to achieve. ThinkingWall has allowed the Facilities Team to deliver a space that maximises versatility without compromising on design. The ground floor is able to adapt to the University’s changing needs on a daily basis and Williams has found a robust and elegant solution to dividing the room, without the need for building walls or making permanent changes.

If you are looking for a modular, reconfigurable system to divide a space without building walls, then visit our product pages or contact us today to discuss your project.

Student Ambassadors at University of Gloucestershire use a small ThinkingWall collaboration space for planning