A Lasting Legacy For The Bay Campus As Iconic Great Hall Opens Its Doors

Today (14 March 2016) the Great Hall opened its doors to provide an iconic new home for Swansea University Arts, located at the heart of the £450m Bay Campus development. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Delivered by St. Modwen, lead developer for the Bay Campus, this £32m facility was designed by world renowned architect, Dr. Demetri Porphyrios, to provide a lasting legacy for students and the wider local community. It includes lecture theatres and break out teaching spaces on the ground floor. The first floor provides a balcony offering unrestricted vistas across Swansea Bay, a café /bar and the 700 seat Sir Stanley Clarke Auditorium, named after St. Modwen’s founder. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Great Hall provides near perfect acoustic qualities inside its Sir Stanley Clarke Auditorium and builds upon the University’s existing cultural arts offering at Taliesin (Singleton Campus) which offers a professional arts programme of theatre, dance, music, visual arts and craft and cinema. It will become the new ‘home venue’ for the University’s revitalised music programme and will host frequent performances by its very own student orchestra and other groups. As well as playing host to local community arts and cultural events and festivals and international industry conferences. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

To officially mark its opening, the Great Hall will be lit up in the night sky all of this week (ending Sunday 20 March 2016). ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Professor Iwan Davies, senior pro-vice-chancellor at Swansea University said: “The iconic Great Hall would not have been possible without the support from BP, who have supported the development of the Bay Science and Innovation Campus, to ensure the creation of world-class campus facilities at Swansea University. The Great Hall is at the heart of our new campus and is a central hub for students, staff and visitors, to come together to celebrate, not just science and innovation but also culture and arts, in a truly magnificent auditorium. This is a world-class new concert and conference facility for Wales and an inspirational space where members of the public can join the campus community in a truly special environment.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Rupert Joseland, regional director for St. Modwen added: “The Bay Campus has been recognised as among the most ambitious projects in the UK higher education sector for decades and St. Modwen has played a fundamental part in bringing this vision to life by ensuring that the project was constructed to the precision with which it was designed. The recently completed Great Hall is testament to this and having the main auditorium formally named after St. Modwen’s founder, Sir Stanley Clarke, is the ultimate seal of approval. We hope that the facility will be widely enjoyed by both the student and local community for generations to come” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Video: watch timelapse footage that shows how the Great Hall was constructed. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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