Mansfield-based Deanestor has delivered its first project in the higher education sector – providing fitted furniture for the Clarice Pears Building which houses the University of Glasgow’s School of Health and Wellbeing.
Built by Multiplex and designed by AtkinsRéalis, the £50m facility on the University’s Gilmorehill Campus brings together five academic teams from different locations across Glasgow. This has created a single multi-disciplinary centre for world-class research into improving health and reducing health inequalities.
The building is named after Clarice Pears, the mother of the founders and trustees of the Pears Foundation which donated £5m towards the building’s construction.
Deanestor fitted out 42 rooms across five storeys, manufacturing more than 700 items of fitted furniture and joinery at its factory in Mansfield. These included the main reception desk in the entrance atrium, purpose-designed tables and benching, informal booth seating to encourage social interaction and quiet study, storage solutions, kitchenettes, and worktops.
William Tonkinson, Managing Director of Deanestor, said: “This scheme, uniquely, utilises our experience of delivering fitout contracts for state-of-the-art hospital and laboratory projects and also multi-school campuses that promote a high level of collaborative learning and social integration.
“We are really proud to have contributed to this wonderful building that has created such an exciting global centre of research excellence.”
The choice of natural materials for the interior included extensive use of wood finishes to help promote a sense of naturalness and calm in the building.
Bespoke, full height seating booths in a maple wood finish with brightly coloured seating according to the zone, add to the aesthetic impact and were also manufactured by Deanestor.
The booths were provided in different sizes and configurations and incorporate acoustic treatment with padded upholstery above head height to create a canopy that promotes quiet working in the inclusive study spaces. Each was fitted with power, data and charging facilities.
Other booth-style seating arrangements were designed to encourage collaborative working and study whilst incorporating good acoustic performance with the use of upholstered screens.
The Clarice Pears Building is a prominent feature on a new central university square and accommodates over 8,000sqm of research, engagement and teaching space. It will be used to host workshops and knowledge exchange events, as well as to develop new multi-disciplinary postgraduate courses.
