Nottingham Contemporary opens its doors

The high-profile Nottingham Contemporary project – the largest single gallery space in the East Midlands – is just one of many projects that Arup has helped deliver in the city of Nottingham over the past four decades, many of which have been landmark developments focused on regeneration and sustainability.

Set on a steeply sloping site over four storeys (three of which are below the entrance floor), with a total floor area of over 3,000m², the space offers four art galleries, a café bar, offices and a double-height performance space accommodating up to 200 people.

Publically funded, with a strong educational program, the performing arts centre will bring wide reaching benefits to the local community, as well as creating employment and generating tourism for Nottingham.

Due to both the historical nature of the site – dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period - and the steeply sloping topography, the site offered a number of challenges including a major programme of site investigations (unearthing of caves, ditches, wells and pits), major city utilities and significant changes of level. In addition, difficult access to the site had to be addressed. To this end, an enabling works contract was put in place to ‘de-risk’ the site.

"We are delighted to join Nottingham Contemporary in celebrating the opening of a landmark project that will provide the East Midlands with a truly unique new arts institution" comments Andrew Sedgwick, Arup director for the project.

Arup acted as consultant on: structure, civil, geotechnics, lighting, building services, fire and security. The architect on the project was Caruso St John.