Warwick Arts Centre is a vibrant and significant cultural resource, not just for the Warwick campus, but for the whole city and region. It is greatly valued by students, staff and the whole local community, and it has rightly earned a national reputation. The successful funding award from National Lottery and Arts Council England guaranteed the redeveloped cultural and creative centre for the region in which to continue their distinctive, creative, artistic and cultural programme.
First appointed to work with University of Warwick working alongside the Arts Centre senior team to deliver a feasibility study we were then retained to mastermind a major new expansion and redevelopment of Warwick Arts Centre part of the Warwick 20:20 capital project. We worked alongside the team to develop well considered plans and designs for the future of Warwick Arts Centre, the £25.5m investment was supported by an award of £4.2 million in National Lottery funding from Arts Council England and is a key venue in Coventry’s year of UK City of Culture in 2021.
The Arts Centre now boasts a large new building with a number of newly created spaces including three digital auditoria with high-end digital projection and sound, as well as a ground floor gallery to exhibit contemporary art, sculpture and photography.
The building also features a new foyer offering a larger, more environmentally friendly and attractive entrance for visitors, in addition to a new restaurant and bar to ensure the complete experience. The project also involved the refurbishment and upgrading of the existing building.
Completed in time to play it’s part in Coventry City of Culture 2021, the new facilities are fully accessible, environmentally sustainable and provide a truly collaborative creative hub for international class digital art, exhibitions and performances.
Designed by Ellis Williams with Bond Bryan as delivery architect and project managed by Turner & Townsend, the project aims to make Warwick Arts Centre the region’s leading cultural centre and a place where creativity, collaboration and innovation thrive.
