SOUTHERN Regional College’s new £35 million landmark campus in Armagh has secured an official BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating for sustainability, contributing to its ambition to become among the most sustainable in the UK and Ireland.
Designed by WYG Group with Kennedy Fitzgerald Architects, the new 14,000 square-metre campus, which is under construction at Lonsdale Road in the city, will welcome thousands of new and current students to its world class facilities when it opens in September.
BREEAM is the world’s leading independent sustainability measure for major infrastructure and building projects, and the top rating achieved by Armagh SRC means the development will provide a sustainable environment which will protect natural resources and enhance the well-being of students and staff attending.
SRC chief executive Brian Doran said: “Our focus from the outset has been on developing a series of campus developments in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon which would be among the most advanced in the world and provide a sustainability benchmark which others would follow.
“Working with our partners, we put sustainability at the heart of the new Armagh campus and I’m delighted that this superb, state-of-the-art facility will not only provide world class education and training but will be among the newest, most environmentally-conscious buildings to be completed in Northern Ireland.”
Building work on the landmark educational campus got under way in April 2018 under the stewardship of Newry-based construction company Felix O’Hare Limited, and around 200 jobs were created within the construction phase of the project, including 25 apprenticeship opportunities.
It is part of a wider, ambitious £100m investment programme led by SRCe and the Department for the Economy aimed at dramatically improving educational provision and facilities across the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Council area.
