University of Nottingham Malaysia
The University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM) commissioned us to undertake a utilisation audit of their campus working and learning spaces to help plan for the growing demand for teaching facilities and study spaces, and to future proof their campus.

What and where students learn and how education is delivered are continuing to evolve. Educators require high performance, flexible facilities that are cost-effective to build, operate and maintain. It is also important that buildings are engaging, pleasant environments, equipped with systems to support emerging technologies, helping institutions to attract and retain students and staff now and in the future.

Arup employs a comprehensive approach to flexible and adaptable learning spaces considering architectural design, engineering systems, digital integration and environmental innovation. Considerations to energise environments can include modular architecture, with movable partitions to allow ease of configuration for various teaching activities or multipurpose spaces within the building design to accommodate lectures, workshops or group discussions. Our digital teams can plan and integrate technology to allow for digital collaboration such as interactive displays, digital whiteboards, and wireless connectivity with Arup audio-visual (AV) design and advisory practice, delivering infrastructure and systems that bring incredible sound and vision to engage and inspire.

For high specification design areas such as research spaces and laboratories, educators benefit from plug-and-play service infrastructure that offers seamless reconfiguration. We provide technical advice and design solutions to achieve this level of adaptability, reducing capital costs and project timelines through standardisation of design and prefabrication.

Our education teams work closely with educators, stakeholders and wider project teams to ensure that teaching spaces are accessible and environmentally responsible. Interventions such incorporating natural lighting and ventilation systems to reduce energy consumption, wheelchair-accessible entries and arrangements, and implementing acoustically engineered solutions to minimise distractions.