The Portland entrance created a new gateway to the City Campus and enhanced the cohesion of four key locations. As well as providing a principal entrance to the Portland and Calverley buildings – two of the largest teaching spaces in the city – the building now connects the Woodhouse and Leslie Silver buildings, which house the Students’ Union and the library, as well as a range of food and beverage outlets.

Connecting the four buildings has brought everything under one roof for the academic schools based in these locations, creating a greater sense of community and place for the staff and students alike.

The new structure has extended the entrance onto Portland Way, heightening the university’s street presence, whilst the exterior has been designed to blend in with the Portland building’s iconic façade. FUSE were appointed to provide a design concept for the interior allowing the architects to deliver the scheme as a whole through the tender period and onto site. The brief was to work within the architectural design and help bring the creation of smaller collaboration spaces for students to meet and socialise, and undertake informal study within the new entrance.