UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER

We received Full Detailed Planning Application for the refurbishment of 29 Marylebone Road into a ‘high tech’ business incubator unit for professionals, students and alumni. This project forms a key central part of an ongoing development plan by the University which offers its students ‘best in class’ education linked to a business model which bridges the gulf between education and the business world.

The University of Westminster has a proud history of research that has an impact; academic research that draws from and drives the professions it serves. The recent acquisition of 29 Marylebone Road offers the opportunity to showcase the university’s innovative research, enterprise and its rich connections to allied professions and industries.

It will provide a cutting-edge space and high-quality environment to promote this distinctive tradition, to welcome professional partners, alumni and students into an environment characterised by internationally leading researchers and innovative enterprise projects:

The first and most compelling exhibit will be the building itself, intended to be an exemplar of the university’s values. It will be a destination for cutting-edge executive training and other activities which extend from Westminster’s Academic Excellence – David Dernie: Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment (FABE)

The project comprises the following three key elements.

• The opening up of the ground floor level to create a ‘shop front’ for the outward-looking activities of the building and the refurbishment of the building’s interiors to create a ‘university-based’ business centre and incubator unit, which forms a ‘stepping stone’ for students between the education and business worlds.
• The upgrading of the façade treatment to the existing extension of the building on Luxborough Street, and the addition of an external façade treatment to Marylebone Road and Luxborough Street give the building a new identity representative of its new business initiative.
• The connection to the existing university building at 35 Marylebone Road using a high-level pedestrian bridge link over Luxborough Street.