Education – University of Essex

Client: Morgan Ashurst

Architect: Charter Consultant Architects

Value: £17 million

Richard Jackson Ltd were part of the team appointed to carry out the second stage tender for this £17 million development of a brownfield site in Southend for the University of Essex.

The scheme is of mixed use of around 132,000sq ft. The ground floor was largely set aside for commercial use with university accommodation above for lecture theatres, administration and a medical centre. A number of structural framing options have been investigated.

The grid spacing has been chosen to suit the needs of both the retail space on the ground floor and education accommodation on the upper storeys. A composite design steel framed solution has been chosen to partly help keep the height of the building within stipulated limits.