Summers-Inman completes duo of York uni projects
The refurbishment of the Piazza Building and the creation of a professional services hub at the University of York are now ready for students.
Summers-Inman acted as project manager and quantity surveyor on both projects, which it secured through a competitive tender process.
The first project relates to the extensive refurbishment and reconfiguration of part of the ground and second floors within the Piazza Building on Campus East to accommodate the growth of the York School of Architecture.
The second project involved the refurbishment of the second floor of an existing four-storey building to create a professional services hub.
Work began in June 2025 and it is anticipated that teams will start to move in from December.
Commenting on the refurbishment work at the Hub, the University of York’s assistant director, capital development, Robin Beattie, said: “The Hub is part of the university’s plan to make better use of its properties and will offer a variety of spaces to suit different ways of working to provide a flexible workspace for our teams.
“Extensive refurbishment has been undertaken to provide world-class student facilities including presentation and social areas, office accommodation, collaborative working spaces, meeting rooms and a refreshment area.
“By moving some professional services teams into this modern building, we will be able to leave other spaces such as Heslington Hall.
“This helps us streamline our operations and ensures we are creating high-quality, effective workspaces across all our locations.”
Summers-Inman director, David Blakey, said: “Working on a live site without disrupting everyday activities to execute refurbishment works is always challenging.
“Fortunately, our experience makes a significant difference and construction work has gone without a hitch.
“We are delivering advanced acoustic solutions to address previous complaints about noise and at the same time, significantly enhancing user comfort featuring integrated upgraded meeting rooms with digital conferencing technology.
“We have also promoted sustainability through the extensive reuse and recycling of existing furniture in alignment with the university’s sustainability objectives.
“We are hopeful that our success on these two projects will generate further work for us at the University of York campus – we place great emphasis on establishing strong working relationships with all our clients – and we are keen to grow our experience base and workload in Yorkshire.”
