University of Glamorgan Appoints ATRiuM2 Design Team for £15m Cardiff Campus Development

CARDIFF, Wales, September 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The University of Glamorgan has appointed the design team for the construction of its £15m ATRiuM2 campus in the heart of Cardiff. Boyes Rees Architects will partner with Nicholson Jones as civil/structural engineering consultants, and McCann & Partners as electrical engineers, for the project.

The £15m development will cater for a growing demand for specialised graduates in Cardiff's business community and the international markets.  For example, the development will meet the increasing need in the creative and cultural industries for graduates in broadcasting, animation, and the performing arts. It will also reflect the growing needs of the Financial and Professional Services sector in the city's enterprise zone.

Julie Lydon, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Glamorgan Group, said: "Our decision to expand our campuses in Cardiff and invest further in the valleys reflects the demand of employers and our confidence that we are the university of choice for both students and the business community.

"We already have more than 5,700 Glamorgan students in the city, studying the University and at our Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. They come from all backgrounds and many countries. They're attracted to the quality of the teaching and facilities, whether at the new concert hall or the state of the art TV studios in the ATRiuM.  This expansion is a mark of our determination to be the university that provides students with the very best facilities, whatever their background."

The University of Glamorgan announced in March a £28m investment in its campuses in Cardiff and Treforest. This work builds on a £130m programme of investment in facilities across the University of Glamorgan Group, which includes the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and Merthyr Tydfil College.

Lyndon Bailey, Operations Director of Boyes Rees, said: "Boyes Rees Architects are delighted with the opportunity of continuing our relationship with the University of Glamorgan in the development of this prestigious project."

Notes to editors:

Further artists' impressions are available from the University of Glamorgan Public Affairs & Communications team on [email protected]

Founded by industry, for industry as a centre of engineering and management in 1913, the University of Glamorgan is a key international partner of major public and private sector employers.  Rated in the UK's top ten universities for the lowest rate of unemployment among its graduates, 93% of Glamorgan students are in work or further study within six months of graduating.  With 23,000 students from 122 countries on campuses in Cardiff and the South Wales valleys, the University includes two wholly owned subsidiaries, The College at Merthyr Tydfil and Wales's national conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.  With a strong commitment to social justice, Glamorgan opens opportunities to students from a diverse range of backgrounds and is a leading partner in UHOVI, the pioneering Universities' Heads of the Valleys Institute.

With 70% of its research recognised as being of international standing, Glamorgan is one of the five members of the St David's Day Group of Wales's leading research-active universities.  It plays a key role informing the policy debate on sustainable energy, the creative industries, public service reform, and economic growth.  The University is an international leader in the use of ICT and simulation to deliver professional learning: facilities include its own airliner, court room, financial trading floor, HD television studios, computer animation renderfarm, scene of crime house, hospital simulation suite, and police control room. 

SOURCE University of Glamorgan