Design team appointed for proposed new building at USW’s Treforest Campus

The site of the proposed new building at USW's Treforest Campus

A design team has been appointed to draw up plans for a new building on the University’s Treforest Campus.

The team – from Stride Treglown architects and Arup engineers – will work with the University to create plans for an innovative and collaborative teaching and learning space that will predominantly be home to the Engineering, Data Science, and Computing subject areas, but available to the whole University.

The University is known for its hands-on approach to learning with high quality simulation facilities, immersing students in their chosen fields to learn the skills and knowledge they will need in their future careers. The new building will reflect USW’s approach to innovative curriculum design, with high-tech and advanced flexible spaces. There will be neighbourhoods of interdisciplinary programme-based activity within the building that will provide a home for subjects, alongside encouraging collaboration and innovation.

The building will showcase our students’ work and the impact of our research, and welcome in our industry partners to help design and deliver our challenge-based curriculum and work with us on research and innovation. It will lead the University into a new dimension with its use of space for teaching, research, learning, and assessment, transforming how STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) is delivered at USW. Aligned to USW’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2040, the building will be designed to be green and sustainable, with high standards of environmental performance.

The new facility is planned to be built on land that is vacant at the bottom of the Treforest campus, following the demolition of two buildings in 2019 and 2022.

Following a comprehensive design, planning and consultation process, and final approval from our Board of Governors, it is hoped that the new building will be complete and in use in 2026.

Mark Milton, Chief Operating Officer at USW, said: “Appointing a design team to work with us on this exciting project is a significant step forward. We are excited by the proposals for a building that will help to transform how we deliver STEM at USW and we are looking forward to working with Stride Treglown and Arup to turn our ideas into an innovative and exemplary quality new facility.”