Willmott Dixon has been appointed to create a new art and design campus for Bath Spa University.

The former Herman Miller factory building on Locksbrook Road is being transformed into a new home for the Bath School of Art and Design. Work is underway and completion is scheduled for summer 2019.

Features will include modern teaching facilities, practical workshops, studios, a gallery space, as well as a café and art shop. A new rooftop pavilion will add a third storey to the building providing additional space for reflective and collaborative project working.

Externally, the outside of the building will be refurbished and a landscaping project will see the surrounding site being significantly enhanced and upgraded.


Professor Anita Taylor, Executive Dean of Bath School of Art and Design, said: "Heritage, environmental solutions and sustainability are at the heart of both Bath Spa University's and Willmott Dixon's approach to this project and we are delighted to be working with them on our exciting new building.

"We have taken on a building with a strong identity which has an original design brief very much aligned with our own aspirations. We hope our new facility will significantly help to bring staff, students and the public together as part of a strong art and design community here in Bath."

Neal Stephens, Managing Director of Willmott Dixon, said: "We are delighted to be working with Bath Spa University to deliver the next chapter in the life of this significant building in Bath.

"Utilising our wealth of University building experience, we will work closely with our partners to deliver this project in a sustainable and responsible way, and it is a pleasure to be working with a University that shares these principles.

"We will also support the University's vision to bring together the local community through the building, by developing and delivering a plan of community engagement that leaves a lasting legacy that extends beyond the building itself."

(LM/MH)