Chancellor officially opens £30m Barbara Hepworth Building

HRH The Duke of York opened the new building, which will house the School of Art, Design and Architecture, on the first day of the award ceremonies

THE University’s Chancellor, HRH The Duke of York, KG, took a walk into the future when he opened an architecturally-dramatic new building at the University of Huddersfield.  His Royal Highness sampled the latest in motion capture technology, experienced virtual reality and shared a lecturer’s futuristic vision of underground cities.

The £30 million Barbara Hepworth Building – named after the famous Yorkshire-born sculptor – is to be the new canalside home of students in the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University.  From the next academic term, 2,000 students will share the extensive space and its facilities, which include 3D printing and a range of advanced electronic technology.

In 2017, the Duke laid the foundation stone.  Now, the building is complete and on his return visit His Royal Highness first chatted to apprentices who work for the firms involved in the project.  They included the architects AHR and the main contractors Morgan Sindall.

He then visited the Phidias Lab, which is equipped with technology that includes the latest Shogun motion capture system, demonstrated to the Duke by Games Development Manager Helen Smailes and technical assistant Ellie Smith.  Escorted by Professor Song Wu, Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) at the University’s Department of Architecture and 3D Design, the Duke also sampled a Virtual Reality walkthrough of the Barbara Hepworth Building and its design intricacies.

His Royal Highness also met students including Angela Jones and Alex Fiokka – from Cyprus – whose intriguing artworks earned them high marks in their final-year projects for their graphic design courses.  He also met Professor of Architecture Nic Clear, who explained the background to his conception of underground cities in the future, the models of which have featured at major art exhibitions.

After the Duke’s walkabout, there was an official opening ceremony at which the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Bob Cryan, explained that “for all its stunning external appearance, the Barbara Hepworth, like all our new builds, was designed from the inside out. 

“The architects were given a specific brief by academics, including the Dean of Art, Design and Architecture, Professor Mike Kagioglou, and by our Estates and Facilities department.”

Professor Cryan added that the building was conceived as a learning tool in itself – “one that will encourage inter-disciplinary collaboration and creativity among the students”.   

“This will happen because it is effectively an open studio, which means that students from different subject areas can be inspired by what students on other courses are doing.”

A special guest at the opening ceremony was the art historian Dr Sophie Bowness, who is the granddaughter of Dame Barbara Hepworth, who lived from 1903 to 1975 and was born and educated in Wakefield, now home to the renowned Hepworth Gallery.

Towards the close of 2018, Dr Bowness performed a “topping out” ceremony at the University of Huddersfield building that bears her grandmother’s name.  Ahead of her latest visit she presented the University with an artwork by Dame Barbara, a screen print titled Green Man.  This is now on permanent display in the Barbara Hepworth Building and at the opening ceremony Professor Cryan thanked Dr Bowness for “a thoughtful gift that adds a finishing touch to this building that commemorates and celebrates your grandmother”.