Warwick to get a new Faculty of Arts Building

In September of last year Warwick’s Faculty of Arts launched an international competition for the design of the new Faculty of Arts Development at the University of Warwick’s main campus in Coventry.

The competition description stated that the new building would be the global centre for research and teaching in arts and humanities and will bring together eight University of Warwick humanities departments currently spread across two separate buildings.

The new building will be situated on Warwick’s main campus, replacing an existing car park near to the MJP Architects-designed main library and students union.

The judging panel included leading departmental academics, members of the university’s senior leadership team and RIBA adviser Cindy Walters of Walters & Cohen. They unanimously selected Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBS) as the winners from an impressive shortlist which included WilkinsonEyre and Swedish firm White Arkitekter.

FCBS partner Andy Theobald said that “we are very much looking forward to an exciting collaboration with the faculty to develop our competition-winning proposals and together create a building for interaction, learning and research right across the humanities.”

Arts faculty chair Simon Gilson commented: “The competition has been immensely valuable in generating a wealth of ideas for a building that will serve students, staff and the public over the coming decades.

“The successful architects will be helping us move into the exciting next phase of the development as we look to create a building that is open, inviting and flexible, allows collaboration, creativity and innovation to flourish, and acts as a hub both for public engagement in the humanities and for nurturing cultural value.”