Regeneration specialist, Waystone Ltd has announced today the completion of its most technically challenging project to date, the £22.5 million Wakefield College Skills Xchange at Glasshoughton. Waystone has handed the building over to the College ahead of the formal grand opening scheduled for later this year.
Constructed by Waystone from an original concept design by DLA Architects, the 130,000 sq ft Skills Xchange will house the provision which is currently offered at the College’s Whitwood Campus, including Hair and Beauty Therapy, IT, Construction, Motor Vehicle and Engineering.
The new building is designed to be distinctive, attractive, welcoming and easy to navigate. On entry visitors are greeted by a large reception and refectory. The conference facilities are on the top floor and the new Learning Centre sits right at the heart of the building with views to a walled garden.
Alistair McLoughlin, Construction Manager at Waystone commented; ‘The Skills Xchange is by far the most iconic building that we have ever worked on and a project of great pride for Waystone. As owners of the overall site that we have spent many years regenerating, we were asked to design and build project on a plot that presents a very visible landmark. The unusual footprint of the building and the resulting geometry of the roof structure presented a huge number of challenges, both internally and externally. The wide range of uses for the building called for a variety of internal treatments and the finished building has many amazing outward and internal aesthetic qualities’.
College Principal Sue Griffiths added; ‘The completion and handover of the Campus is a significant milestone on our journey towards realising our ambitions to provide cutting edge training facilities, for both individuals and businesses, and meet the skills challenges of the 21st century’.
The Skills Xchange is a part of Waystones’ Glasshoughton site that is considered a blueprint for the successful regeneration of a regionally significant waste site. Awarded Best Regeneration Project at the prestigious 2007 Yorkshire Property Awards, the development has its own railway station and is already home to the famous Xscape leisure complex, a hotel, restaurants, ASDA, B&Q as well residential communities.
For more information on the Skills Xchange please visit: http://www.wakefield.ac.uk/SkillsXchange/.
For more information on Waystone Ltd and its developments please visit: www.waystone.co.uk.
PRESS RELEASE
For further information please contact:
Louise French/ Kate Robinson
French PR
t: 0113 242 4999
e: louise@frenchpr.co.uk
e: kate@frenchpr.co.uk
Released: 19 January 2009