In 2013 the University Executive Board agreed that there would be a £15m investment into Portland Building on University Park Campus to create a brilliant building for students. As Portland is such a busy building (sometimes attracting 18,000 through it a day!) there is no way of closing to complete refurbishments. Instead, the work was phased over 4 years, mainly over summer periods.
The refurbishment of the Malone Atrium was part of phase 3 (2017) which also included a cafe. retail space, welcome reception and landscaping of Portland Hill. Read more about the other phases of Portland Building refurbishment here.
We worked with CPMG Architects to spec the products and finishes within the space. The area has Extreme Lounging beanbags and Jupiter Stools from Rhubarb which are easy to move around making it a very flexible space.
Students are able to use the Malone Atrium to study or just relax with plenty of natural daylight coming through the glass ceiling.
The Yolo chair by Orangebox is a reinterpretation of the classic deck chair, suiting the 'outside in' space perfectly.