• Work underway on the new Ravensbourne College
• College will be complete to open for 2010-11 academic year
• Located next to The O2 on Greenwich Peninsula and the new commercial district already under construction
• Bovis Lend Lease appointed as contractors

Major construction work on the new Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication has started on Greenwich Peninsula.

Cutting edge design and green technologies built into the fabric of the building mean that the college is set to prove that you can combine high design standards with sustainability. The building has been awarded BREEAM Excellent Status for facilities such as a green roof, solar hot water and a biomass boiler.

In addition, in order to achieve optimum environmental performance and offer high flexibility, the building’s external shape and form has been kept as compact as possible.  A deep build of 31m has been proposed, that provides flexible ‘underground’ space to host the various activities in the building. The need for studio spaces and workshops, and the low-lighting levels required by the film studios and predominantly IT-based activities lend themselves naturally to this type of space.

Bovis Lend Lease are the contractors for this project who are now on site for a build programme which will see the College open and ready in September 2010, for the start of the 2010-11 academic year.  Ravensbourne College is a leading higher education college of design and communication and its new campus will be home to 1,500 students.

The £50m new College will be situated close to The O2 and North Greenwich Underground Station, providing an ideal location for students as well as adding life and vibrancy to the Peninsula.  Already the area hosts 10 million visitors a year to The O2, Europe’s most successful music and entertainment venue, and next year the first commercial offices open providing a base for over 1,500 staff from Transport for London.
 
Thames Gateway Minister, Margaret Beckett, said:

"Investing in infrastructure and education facilities can bring new skills to the Greenwich Peninsula and surrounding area.  The progress being made at Ravensbourne College is a perfect example this. This college is a vital part of delivering our new skills agenda."

Welcoming the news, Daniel Labbad, Chief Executive of Lend Lease Retail and Communities UK, said:
 
“Greenwich Peninsula will provide an exceptional location for students of Ravensbourne College and confirmation of the start on site is yet another milestone in the development of Greenwich Peninsula.
 
“Next year 1,500 staff of TfL move into world-class new offices at the Peninsula and a year after that 1,500 staff and students of Ravensbourne College will join them.  Alongside the tube station, bus station, Peninsula Square and the fantastic facilities at The O2, the regeneration of the Greenwich Peninsula is gathering pace.”

Phil Dibsdale, Area Director for South London Gateway at English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency and landowner at Greenwich Peninsula, said:
 
“We are delighted that work has begun on a new home for Ravensbourne College, which will provide a fantastic new facility and setting for students. People make places and this new centre of creative learning will add further vitality and momentum to the growth and regeneration of this exciting part of London.”

Robin Baker, Principal of Ravensbourne College, said:

“We are delighted that the College has begun its next stage of transformation by starting to build at Greenwich Peninsula and that this will allow for a physical relocation in summer 2010 and the beginning of a new era for Ravensbourne.”
 
 Alejandro Zaera-Polo, Principal of FOA, the architects for the new college building, said:

“With its gothic rose windows and flower patterned facade, the architecture is designed to capitalise on both Ravensbourne College’s roots in the Arts and Crafts tradition, characterised by the floral motifs which appeared on wallpapers and claddings, and the relevance of a floral, arts and crafts reference in contemporary culture.”

ENDS

For further information about the Greenwich Peninsula, contact
•         Kate Fisher, London Communications Agency, 020 7612 8480, 07977-141216, kf@londoncommunications.co.uk
 
For further information about Ravensbourne College, contact
•         Lisa Johnstone, Communications Officer, 020 8289 481, l.johnstone@rave.ac.uk
 
About Greenwich Peninsula
The £5 billion regeneration of 190 acres of Greenwich Peninsula led by Lend Lease and Quintain Estates and Development PLC working in collaboration with English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency – a true public private partnership.  The scheme will create a thriving new riverside community for London over the next 15 years.

•         10,000 new homes in distinct residential neighbourhoods
•         24,000 permanent jobs
•         Peninsula Central - a new business district for London 
•         150 new shops and restaurants
•         1.6 miles of river frontage; the distance between Waterloo and London Bridge
•         48 acres of open spaces and parks; the size of Green Park
•         Extensive new community and leisure facilities
•         The O2 entertainment destination delivered and operated by AEG Europe
•         Excellent transport links, situated in zone 2 on the jubilee line
•         Aspiration for the highest environmental standards for new buildings
www.greenwichpeninsula.co.uk
 
About Lend Lease
Lend Lease listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, is a leading real estate specialist which creates and manages real estates assets around the world.  In the UK its business is focussed primarily in the delivery of large scale mixed use schemes which lead to the regeneration of major urban sites.
www.lendlease.com
 
About Quintain Estates and Development PLC
Quintain is a leading property investment and development company specialising in strategic property acquisition, redevelopment, asset management and regeneration across the UK.  Quintain operates through three business segments - fund management, property investment and urban regeneration. Quintain is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a FTSE 250 company.
www.quintain-estates.com
 
About English Partnerships
English Partnerships is the national regeneration agency helping the Government to support high quality sustainable growth by creating well-served mixed communities where people enjoy living and working.  The agency is overseeing the regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula and has invested over £225 million since 1997. In collaboration with the Housing Corporation, the Academy for Sustainable Communities and Communities and Local Government we are establishing the new Homes and Communities Agency that will begin operating on 1 December 2008.
www.englishpartnerships.co.uk