The University of East Anglia (UEA) has approved plans for a new £65m teaching building that will pave the way for refurbishment of one of its most eye-catching and important features.
Development of the Sky House will allow students and staff to move out of the 460m-long Lasdun Wall teaching block, which was opened in 1970 but needs an overhaul.
The new teaching facility, which will be located at the end of the Lasdun Wall, across from the Registry, will act as a main reception point for the UEA campus.
It will become home to Arts and Humanities along with some Social Sciences schools from 2022.
UEA Vice-Chancellor Professor David Richardson said: "Investing in our UEA campus means investing in our people and the spaces they need to work, learn, study and teach both now and in the future.
"The Sky House will be the new gateway to UEA for visitors and provide collaborative and communal working spaces for our staff and students."
The development of The Sky House is the key to unlocking Lasdun Wall's major refurbishment.
The wall is listed by Historic England for its special architectural and historic interest but is at the end of its design life.
The wall was created by the architects Denys Lasdun and Bernard Feilden. It is a single 460 metre block with a library and an arena-shaped social space.
The new teaching building will include general purpose teaching and seminar spaces, flexible informal learning spaces, drama studios and café facilities.
In order to start work on Sky House, significant changes will have to be made to UEA's campus including changing car park entrances and relocating footpaths and bus stops.
There will also be 300 car parking spaces removed and a change of road layout, to encourage people visiting the university to not to drive to campus but to use more environmentally sustainable travel such as the free Park and Ride, the Park and Stride, car sharing and/or cycling or walking.
As well as this, UEA plans to relocate cycle parking and remove and replant around 85 trees.
A public consultation on the proposals for The Sky House is being held at UEA on Thursday June 6 in the foyer of the Enterprise Centre on UEA campus between 4-7pm.
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