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Osborne and The University of Roehampton Celebrate Breaking Ground of New Library

Osborne and the University of Roehampton are celebrating breaking ground on the University’s new £24million library, forming the next stage of the extensive redevelopment of its 60 acre campus in South West London.

The breaking ground ceremony, that marks a key moment in the construction of the new library, and is traditional within the industry as it celebrates the first official day of construction, was attended by senior members of the University and Osborne including University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul O’Prey and Osborne Chairman, Andrew Osborne.

The library will be four storeys tall, like most of the university buildings, and will see an increase in the number of available study spaces from 960 to 1060. An improved internal layout over the previous building, which wasn’t purpose built, will provide additional shelf space to meet student book demands.

Osborne, who are also delivering a new student accommodation block at the University’s Digby Stuart College, due to be completed later this year, started work on the library, with the help of Director of Estates and Campus Services, Dr Ghazwa Alwani-Starr and University Pro Vice Chancellor and Director of Finance, Reggie Blennerhassett, who drove the first piles into the ground, which will provide the core of the library’s foundations.

Dr Ghazwa Alwani-Starr, Director of Estates and Campus Services at the University of Roehampton, said: “Our new Library is a symbol of our commitment to high standards of academic achievement and research. It is proof of the promise we have made to create the best facilities and resources available to help students secure an excellent degree and give them the critical thinking skills which employers value.

“We’re pleased to see work getting under way on the site and working with Osborne we’re looking forward to watching it rise up in the centre of our campus during the next 18 months. Our current first year students will be the first to use the new library when it opens in autumn 2017, which is particularly pleasing.”

Chris Hickman, Osborne Senior Project Manager, said: “Breaking ground is always an exiting moment for us. After many months in the design and planning stages, it’s fantastic to be making those first physical steps towards delivering, what will become, a library that will benefit so many in the years to come.”

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