Maber completes Derby College upgrade

Architects maber has completed upgrading facilities at Derby College Group, which will allow it to deliver new T-Level qualifications.

The firm, which has its Derby office in Riverside Court, on Pride Park, has designed and delivered the project at the college’s Hudson Building.

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Work on site started in March, just as the country was forced into its first national lockdown due to Covid-19.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, the college worked closely with the maber team to ensure it could deliver the project, while ensuring all social distancing and safety measures were adhered to.

The scheme involved the provision of new facilities and enhancements for professional construction students using the building.

The changes will allow the college to bring together classroom learning and an extended industry placement on a programme designed in partnership with local businesses.

In a statement, maber said: “The central feature of the new layout is to promote self-directed learning.

“Classrooms are there for practical, specialist use, such as dedicated CAD workstations. These are supported by open learning areas, which are flexible and used for collaboration and group work.

“The layout also offers a layering of private meeting booths for group work and single workstation concentration pods.

“The workspaces link to a social refectory area, which can be connected to the open study areas by opening a large sliding screen. This gives the flexibility to open and close areas off when the curriculum demands.”