Royal Holloway Marks Milestone Ground Breaking Ceremony

Osborne has started work at their development for Royal Holloway, University of London, marking the occasion with a celebratory Ground Breaking ceremony.

Earlier this year, Osborne was awarded the £30million contract to build the university’s new flagship Library and Student Services Centre. Built opposite Royal Holloway’s iconic Founder’s Building – which was opened by Queen Victoria in 1886 – the visual state-of-the-art facilities, once completed, will provide an extra 1,154 study spaces as well as 12.6km of shelving.

The Osborne team celebrated the milestone of this scheme with a Ground Breaking ceremony earlier this month. Also known as a Sod-Turning ceremony, this traditional service within the industry celebrates the first official day of construction on a project.

Alongside the project team, the event was attended by Osborne Chairman, Andrew Osborne; Chair of College Council, Stephen Cox; Student Union President, Nayab Cheema; and Principal, Paul Layzell, who took part in the first breaking of the ground with a commemorative shovel.

The new building will bring together Royal Holloway’s Careers centre, a range of student services, shops and cafes and a dedicated study area for PhD students. In addition, it will provide valuable purpose-built storage for the College’s art, archives and special collections.

John Craig, Managing Director for Construction at Osborne, said:  “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract. It is a prestigious and challenging project, and collaboration at all stages will be a key factor in successful delivery.”