James Went Building
Wyggeston & Queen Elizabeth 1 College

LRSA Awards 2010

Highly Commended in Leicestershire & Rutland Society of Architects (LRSA) Awards 2010, the new James Went building is part of an £10million sixth-form college campus expansion and modernisation project.

This light and airy building houses Visual & Performing Arts, Business Studies and Economics and is cleverly designed with inspirational learning in mind. A limited palette of materials, cedar cladding, white render and glass, carefully combine in an elegant design solution.  A notable sculptural feature is a series of freestanding columns, enclosing a sculpture courtyard. From a first floor balcony, a helical stair curves down into the courtyard, giving views of sculptures from different angles and levels. In Art & Design, exposing the structure and mechanical and electrical services allows students see the workings of the building from the inside.

Top floor north lights provide natural light and ventilation and roof lights and clerestory glazing allow daylight into the core of the building. A geothermal ground source heat pump provides heating and cooling, brise soleil and solar control glass regulate heat gain and glare and an automatic window system regulates environmental conditions inside.

In 2009 the James Went building won a Leicester Civic Society Award for Architecture, the Leicester Joint Consultant Committee award for Craftsmanship to the external façade, was Highly Commended in the Best Educational Development category of the East Midlands LABC Building Excellence Awards and a finalist in ProCon Leicestershire.