Well, it’s taken a while but we’re finally there! Yesterday we received final approval from the planners at B&NES Council giving us full permission to proceed. The University has released a press release announcing the news, which you can read here. Our Director, John Struthers has also been doing the PR rounds and you can hear him speaking to BBC Radio Bristol here.

We’ve appointed our main contractor team from construction company Leadbitter, who will be ready for action very soon. The hoardings are already being erected around the site, which will allow them to get stuck into Arts Barn demolition and clear the site to make way for building work.

And so it begins...

Given the process to this point it’s hard to believe that the real hard work to turn our designs into a reality begins now, but I’ll soon be putting in my order for a high-vis jacket, hard-hat and steel-toe-capped boots to be properly suited and booted for touring the site and seeing progress first-hand.

Huge credit goes to every member of the Design Team for their work in getting us past this key milestone. A special mention must go to Project Manager Tim Harris, whose persistence, commitment and sheer determination to keep us in budget and steer the project successfully to this point has been a joy to behold! He’s probably regretting ever getting involved (and I think I’ve noticed a few more grey hairs appearing over the past few months), but he can now tick planning off his list and move on to the equally challenging construction phase. We know for sure he’s up for it though, as we all are…

So, exciting times ahead! I’ll be able to give more regular updates on progress from now on, so make sure you keep checking back to hear how we’re doing.

A very exciting thing happened last week: we got our chainsaws out and began to cut down trees to pave the way for our new Centre, having received the necessary permission from Bath & North East Somerset Council.  OK, so it’s not quite the same as having full planning permission, which we’re still yet to achieve, but it shows signs of significant progress as we near the point where we can begin building work.

On-site action

Our optimism knows no bounds so we’re still confident we can be on site next month. We’re in the process of finalising our main contractor for the project and are working hard to secure that all important planning permission as quickly as possible. Additional sample panels of the external finishes are being prepared as I write, which fingers-crossed will satisfy the planners. After that it’ll be full steam ahead…!

Just back from giving the potential contractors a tour of our site: 22 eager beavers from 5 firms keen to get their hands on our project and turn it into a reality. Yes, we’re out to tender, which is another important milestone ticked off the list. Planning issues are almost resolved, so we should be well on our way soon. Due to the planning hiccups we’ve rolled the demolition of the Arts Barn into the main contract, so once we’ve selected our preferred contractor in March they’ll be getting into gear to clear the site before building work starts properly in April/May.

Good thing too – You’ll see below the Barn is looking a bit unloved at the moment. If work doesn’t start soon, we’ll be able to build a tree house in Studio 1…

Machetes at the ready...

With the reality of its demise finally setting in, people are starting to reminisce about ‘the good old days’. So, we’re looking for people to give us their memories of Arts Barn-related experiences, which we’ll pull together and do something interesting with. If you’d like to contribute towards this as-yet-unknown extravaganza of Barn nostalgia, either through words, images, song, painting, mime or any other media that takes your fancy, please send them through to us at ICIAinfo@bath.ac.uk. Here’s a poem I’ve written to give you some inspiration as a starter for ten:

Oh, Arts Barn how I will be sad to see the back of thee,
with your intermittent heating and in-growing ivy.
When I think back to the nine years I’ve spent,
wasting my time trying to make you look resplendent,
it brings me out in a cold sweat
and yet
strangely I think I might miss you a tiny bit after all,
if only for a split second before you fall.
After that, bring on the demolition crew and let’s raze you to the ground.

In other related news: We’re scurrying around to get everything ready for our new season of events, exhibitions, courses and classes. This involves clearing the Barn of ‘stuff’, shifting it to Hayesfield School – where a lot of our visual arts classes will take place during construction – as well as other venues dotted about campus. We’ll be open for business throughout the building work, just in different spaces, so keep in touch and get involved.

Despite our best efforts we’re still waiting to get the go-ahead from the planners. However, it’s hopefully a matter of when not if, so we’re not letting that stop us from getting to the point of being ready to go as soon as we get a positive outcome.

The Design Team are beavering away preparing the Stage E, detailed design stage report so that we can go out to tender on the construction phase of the project before Christmas. Everything’s coming together nicely, with lots of talk about what’s required in each space, from storage to furniture; light switches to power sockets. We’ve got to make sure all bases are covered otherwise we’re looking at needing to issue tender addenda (which rhymes nicely so I had to get it in, but basically means amendments to the contract that could prove more costly in the long run).

We’ve already selected our demolition crew (no, not the ICIA team), who are poised to knock down the Arts Barn at a moment’s notice and pave the way for some of that lovely steelwork currently on display at the site of the University’s GTA building. As soon as we’re clear on dates we’ll have an ‘End of Barn’ party (a Barn Dance perhaps), to mark the final days of this much loathed loved building.

We’re also making plans for what we’re calling the 4^th Gallery, which will make use of the hoardings around the site for a series of artist commissions during the construction period. Watch this space for more information as we near the start of the project in the spring.

Finally, thanks to all students and staff who came to our open meeting in November. One of the highlights for me was an image of architects Peter & Alison Smithson holding up a tatty old rug to symbolise their original vision for the design of arts facilities at the University in the 1980s. Yes, that’s how long we’ve been waiting, so another month before final sign-off suddenly doesn’t seem so bad…

The Smithson's Masterplan

As we march past another key milestone in the project, I thought it was worth an update as to how things are progressing.

The Design Team has worked tirelessly to pull together the Stage D Report, which is now with the numerous University stakeholders for their views. Stage D is known as Design Development, taking the concept design and adding more detail.

Visual Arts Gallery

The report runs to some 340 pages, featuring updated designs, a proposed palate of building materials to make it look nice, lots of technical stuff about electrics, heating, drainage, acoustics and lighting (apologies to Hoare Lea for the lack of detail) and an answer to the all-important question of how the building will manage to stand upright (clue: concrete and steel features prominently). Also, who’d have thought a toilet strategy would prove so interesting…

We now have a scale model to work with (cardboard features prominently) and we can show-off some images of what the Centre might look like from the inside. All of which is adding to the overall excitement as step-by-step the project moves closer to reality.

Cafe/Bar

We watched enviously as the imaginatively titled new University General Teaching Accommodation (GTA) building and overall campus Masterplan received unanimous support from Bath & North East Somerset Council’s development control committee (aka planning) in September. Our fingers and toes are well and truly crossed we receive the same support by the end of this month.

Dance Studio

We’ve already moved into Stage E (aka Technical Design) where we get into some serious detail. We’ve started going through ‘Room Data Sheets’ for each and every space, where even the lift gets its own page. This painstaking process will make sure we get everything we need, right down to the number and location of plug sockets.

All in all, lots to be getting on with, and a growing feeling of responsibility that we’re only going to get one shot at this and it needs to be right…

Welcome to the first post about the University’s new Centre for the Arts. I’m Joel Staley, Deputy Director at the Institute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts (ICIA), and I’ll be your guide through the ups and downs of designing and constructing a new venue from now until the doors finally open…

It’s all in the planning

There’s a lot to catch up with as we’re well into the project already. We completed our feasibility report in March and had our concept designs approved by the University earlier this month before submitting our planning application to Bath & North East Somerset Council, which is a major milestone for the project.

Back to the beginning

As the Sunday Times’ University of the Year for 2011/12, one of Bath’s key aims is to widen the student experience, so that the focus is not just on excellence in learning, teaching and research but also complementary opportunities to develop ‘well-rounded’ students. ICIA is key to the success of this strategy, not only in offering extra-curricular courses and classes but also professional events, exhibitions, as well as commissions of new work and artist residencies.

The new Centre for the Arts will provide the University and surrounding region with state-of-the-art facilities in which to further develop our work. As a public building, the Centre will attract many visitors to campus as well as catering for our on-campus community.

In the new Centre, spaces will have their primary uses, but they will be as flexible as possible so they can be used for other activities such as teaching and conferences. In addition, new spaces will specifically support the delivery of Executive MBA programmes by the School of Management.

We’ve been working closely with various stakeholders within the University to develop a sound business plan for the project, looking at the ins and outs of what spaces are needed and how it fits with the University’s future plans. We have a budget of £10.93m, which is going to be pretty tight given all that we want to achieve, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.

Who’s involved?

We’ve got a really strong and exciting lineup in our design team. We started off by employing a Project Manager: Tim Harris from JonesLangLasalle was our choice, a no-nonsense kind of guy who has what it takes to whip everyone into shape and instantly got to grips with our requirements. Next up were Cost Consultants Gleeds, Services Engineers Hoare Lea, Structural Engineers Mann Williams and Theatre Consultants Carr & Angier.

Last, but my no means least, our architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, who were the last piece of the jigsaw and came out of a rigorous tender process from an initial 80 firms who expressed an interest in our project in early 2011. A multi-award winning practice, they’ve designed some great buildings and we’re really excited to be working with them.

What’s the timetable?

We’re due to open in September 2014, beginning construction in March next year. We’ve done a lot already but clearly still have a lot to do. Next up is the preparation of more detailed designs to tender for contractors to build the Centre before the end of the year.

What to expect from this blog

I’ll make sure to keep you up to date on progress as we go along, hopefully persuade some of the key players to give you an idea of what they do, as well as give design and programme updates with lots of lovely images and maybe the odd film or two to liven things up a bit.

So if you’ve ever wanted to know what goes into a capital project or just want to keep updated on our progress, keep reading and I’ll do my best to entertain you along the way. You can also follow me on Twitter for mini updates, if you’re that way inclined…