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A plan to breathe new life into an iconic building at the heart of the University of Southampton's Highfield Campus has been unveiled.
The copper-clad Nuffield building will be transformed into an accessible and modernised lecture theatre and teaching suite thanks to a £19m refurbishment proposal.
While the new auditorium would be used to create a much-needed large teaching and learning space for students, the renovated building would also be available for conferences events and theatre.
University of Southampton's Deputy Vice-President (Operations), Kieron Broadhead, said: "The Nuffield sits right at the heart of Highfield Campus and this refurbishment is part of our ongoing investment programme to provide our students, colleagues and the local community with inspiring places to learn, work, and visit.
"It's an exciting opportunity to provide a new future for this building, which will ensure responsible use of our own estate to meet the University's need for additional, large-scale teaching space."
The University's Executive Director of Estates and Facilities, Kevin Argent, added: "The prospect of taking this building and its 400-seat auditorium, which has so much valued history and shared
community memory, into a new era is exciting.
"Our plans provide an opportunity for a new future for the space, while respecting its rich legacy, and we have secured a wonderful team of specialists to work on this with us."
The existing building currently accommodates some smaller teaching spaces and an auditorium but has been under-used since NST (Nuffield Southampton Theatres) vacated its lease in 2019 and is now in urgent need of both internal and external renovation.
A permitted development application has now been submitted with work scheduled to be complete by the end of the year.
The University has appointed architect, WilkinsonEyre, and is working with theatre and acoustics specialists, Charcoalblue, on preserving the unique features of the building.
