Students' Union to be state of the art

Already local and national award winners on many counts, when the works are completed, the Students’ Union aims to be one of the best in the country, with state of the art, modern, contemporary facilities throughout.

The University is investing over £5 million into the Students’ Union, and the work will see a brand new, glass-fronted main entrance to the Union building, providing better external and internal access, and improved disabled access with a new lift and power-assisted doors. In addition, the new entrance will also be home to the famous Well Read Bookshop.

The ground floor is also being developed to place the Union’s important ‘membership services’ such as advice, societies, ‘Give it a Go’, Reps and volunteering front and centre. Again glass-fronted, the new ground floor area will showcase to the outside world everything going on inside in a ‘shop-front’ fashion, raising their profile and making them much more accessible. Plenty of space for students to make their own, the new area, being called ‘The Base’, will provide student groups lots of resources and a comfortable atmosphere so they can get the most out of their Union. A bigger and better ‘IT Place’ will also feature in the Base, which offers technical support to students in a friendly drop-in centre.

Stage 2, the ground-floor theatre is also being completely redeveloped. When it comes back online in September, it will be a first class performing arts and live music venue. Brand new sound and lighting equipment, as well as innovative seating that can be re-arranged at the touch of a button will provide students with a truly outstanding performing, teaching and entertainment space.

Following the transformation of ‘The Venue’ into ‘Domain’, the huge first floor multi-purpose room last summer, further work is taking part elsewhere on the first floor during this development. The area that was home to the Advice and Representation Centre, Student Activities Centre and the Sabbatical offices is being turned into a cool, contemporary, social working and relaxation lounge. Completely non-commercial, the area will offer students masses of comfy seating and plenty of IT aimed at being anything all students need it to; be that for group work, a break from their studies or checking emails and socialising on Facebook.

Finally, in addition to other smaller work ongoing in the building, Reds on the second floor is also not forgotten. An institution in its own right, Reds will be redeveloped into a stylish café bar by day and a sophisticated clubbing experience by night, unique to anything else that can be found in town.

The work is scheduled to be completed this summer, with student facing services coming online in time for the start of the new academic year. Further details of the work and live images of the progress can be found at www.mynsu.co.uk/stateoftheart.

The Students’ Union is planning on having a series of events to market the opening of their new state of the art facilities and is keen to get back in contact with anyone who served their time on the Student Executive Committee.

If you were an elected Student representative at Northumbria Students’ Union please email gemma.thompson@northumbria.ac.uk with your year or graduation, position on the exec committee and your current contact details, to make sure you are informed of any events taking place.