The Development
The Development of our new ARU Peterborough Building marks another landmark for the university in its continued dedication to helping our students exceed. By conducting this development it allows our higher education students access to advanced facilities, as well as stand as a landmark for education in Peterborough. The building itself has been designed to also be inline with our commitment to zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Sustainable Development and Design
The new ARU Peterborough building will be located on the Embankment Site close to the city centre and to existing transport links and connections.
The campus will create a new high-quality higher education space for Peterborough and establish a strong identity for the University in the city, transforming an under-utilised concrete car park into a green, landscaped campus which will be accessible to the public.
Priority has been given to pedestrian, cycle and public transport use. The building will be approached by an extension of the existing foot and cycle paths from the city, arriving at a new forecourt that will access the main entrance to the building.
Vehicles will access operational parking, a drop-off and accessible parking spaces by an improved existing entrance to the Wirrina car park to the east of the building. Inside there will be spaces for teaching, learning and some offices.
The building has been located to be visible from the city and to passers-by from the road and on foot. It will be three storeys high, with plenty of glass to provide good daylight and natural ventilation as well as encompassing the views of Peterborough Cathedral, from the inside and outside of the building. On the ground floor on the south side there will be a colonnade providing shelter when required as well as terrace seating. The front entrance is a main feature of the building located alongside the state of the art lecture theatre. An open terrace on the second floor provides an external space with views towards the cathedral.
A colonnade to the south provides a sheltered, welcoming access to the building and the roof has a series of distinctive pyramidal lanterns which not only give the building a strong, identifiable skyline in the city but, more importantly, they enable the building to be naturally ventilated and bring more daylight into the heart of the building.
The building has a very open aspect to the south and west to a well landscaped campus garden, with solar shading to help reduce energy requirements and provide a comfortable internal environment. We have a green roof to increase biodiversity and control rain-water run off rates along with photo voltaic panels to generate electricity from sunshine. Good views are provided towards the cathedral and Bishop’s Road.
Sustainable design and net zero carbon emissions by 2030
- Incorporate energy efficiency measures and best practice design to reduce the inherent energy demand and associated CO2 emissions of the development.
- Incorporate Low and Zero Carbon (LZC) technology solutions to decarbonise the energy supply and provide further CO2 reduction with a roadmap to zero carbon, such as air source heat pump systems to transfer heat from outside to inside the building.
- Incorporate recycled materials and materials with low embodied energy impact, locally sourced A and A+ rated construction materials (as defined by the Green Guide to Specification), wherever possible.
- Incorporate water efficiency measures and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), such as green roofs and swales for the disposal of surface water or low water capacity toilets and push button type taps.
- Incorporate measures to encourage sustainable transport, by minimising car park and incorporating additional secured cycle parking.
- Incorporate measures to mitigate the effects of Climate Change, such as provision of solar shading and allowance for cross ventilation throughout the building to stop overheating and provision of attenuation and protection against overland flooding.
I want to find out more about the development
Find out more about the Anglia Ruskin Peterborough development by the CPCA
Click Here
Timelines and milestones
Key milestones for ARU Peterborough between now and the first students arriving:
| ARU announced as Academic Partner | July 2020 |
| Planning application for building proposals to be submitted | July 2020 |
| Full Business Case approved | November 2020 |
| Planning Permission to be granted | November 2020 |
| Main Contractor to be selected and awarded | January 2021 |
| Construction Begins | November-December 2020 |
| University opens doors to first students | September 2022 |
What next for the ARU Peterborough development?
Over the longer term, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority will continue the development of the University.
The First Teaching Building
This stage of the project sees the first group of students taught on campus at the Embankment site, and off campus through blended learning, distance learning, face to face on company premises and through local outreach centres.
Research and Development Centre
(June 2021 – June 2023)
The Centre is a £16.47m joint venture between the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and Peterborough-based business Photocentric and will link academia and industry in the second phase of the development of ARU Peterborough.
Arranged over three floors the 3,300 sqm centre will provide good quality, efficient and flexible space for research and development and will create a new high-quality space for the city, completing the transformation of the under-utilised Wirrina car park into a green, well landscaped campus, fully accessible to the public.
The building will be designed to both complement and be distinct from the first teaching building and be adaptable and flexible to accommodate future change. The project will promote visibility of research, internally and externally, and will provide inspiring spaces to encourage innovation, collaboration and social interaction.
Research performed within the Centre will create a wide range of technologies, including new energy storage devices, specifically car batteries, manufacture new products using sustainable plastics and print industrial parts as opposed to moulding them. This will define the next generation of manufacturing methods making plastic, ceramic, metal and composite parts.