The proliferation of high street bars with their drinks deals and promotions directly affects students’ union bars around the country. However, there are ways to compete and become the first choice for students. The investment in the bars at Newcastle Students’ Union is a strong example.
A Multi-Million Pound Refurbishment
The proliferation of high street bars with their drinks deals and promotions directly affects students’ union bars around the country. However, there are ways to compete and become the first choice for students. The investment in the bars at Newcastle Students’ Union is a strong example.
An £8 million refurbishment of the main building, which began in November 2010, has transformed the interior of one of the University’s most iconic buildings and significantly improved the facilities available to students.
The programme of works saw all six floors undergo a full refurbishment, with new bars, social spaces and support facilities introduced throughout to create a modern, flexible environment suited to contemporary student life.
The Students’ Union building hosts both the 225-capacity Men’s Bar and the 1,200-capacity Venue. These high-capacity spaces cater for students day and night, offering a wide variety of both alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks while requiring efficient service during peak trading periods.
Bringing The Ideas Together
KCM Catering Equipment, one of the nominated contractors with specially negotiated NUSSL contract pricing for the IMC Bartender range of stainless-steel modular bars, was asked by the Capital Developments team at Newcastle University to design layouts for each of the bar areas to reflect their individual uses.
KCM attended an initial design meeting alongside IMC and representatives from the University and Students’ Union and, through its team of experienced designers, developed initial concepts for the bar equipment. CAD layouts were produced for each design, allowing the concepts to be clearly understood.
Each bar area needed to provide workstations suited to the use and volume of the venue. The flexibility of the IMC Bartender system allowed the bar designs to satisfy all operational and product requirements. These concepts were refined to meet the Students’ Union’s needs and budgets, ensuring that everything required by each member of bar staff was no more than one or two paces away.
A Carefully Planned Installation
KCM Catering Equipment’s team in conjunction with the project’s Principal Contractor BAM Construction completed installation on the bar areas, with 50m of Bartender modules, 33 bottle coolers, 4 glass washers and a large capacity ice machine being installed in a single week. Integration of the installation into the main contractor’s programme of works was critical with KCM winning praise for its focused and well-coordinated project delivery.
KCM were very helpful in the design stages, offering very useful experience, which helped bring the project to completion on time. On site they were well organised and worked well within a larger more complicated refurbishment. Overall the service was excellent.
James Adshead, Senior Project Manager – Newcastle University
James Adshead, Senior Project Manager – Newcastle University
The First Award of Many
Following the opening, Newcastle University Students’ Union was entered into the National Mixology Interior Design Awards and was subsequently announced as the winner of the Education Interior Design Award 2011, at a ceremony held at the Palace Hotel, Manchester.
The NUSU architects Faulkner Brown, and lead designer Alistair Stripp, were present to receive the award. NUSU President, Laura Perry, said “This is a fantastic time to be President of the Union, and this award shows that the experts in the industry recognise what a fantastic facility we have delivered for our students”.
Chief Executive, Simon Gerry, followed up by saying, “This award recognises the time, effort and detail that was put into the project. There were some fabulous ideas put forward throughout and we looked to capture the very best of them. It is very gratifying to have the results recognised by the best the industry has to offer”.
Fundamental to the success of every business is the ability to adapt and evolve, and students’ union bars are no exception. The latest bar equipment enables managers not only to improve staff efficiency and productivity, but also to enhance the students’ experience and thus keep them coming back for more.
Gary Barnabas, Product Manager of Bar – IMC
Gary Barnabas, Product Manager of Bar – IMC
The project at Newcastle Students’ Union was a huge success brought about by innovative thinking, great teamwork and a fantastic and flexible bar system. It represents not just a great facility for the students at Newcastle, but also one of the most functional, creative and truly stunning bars in the UK.
Alistair White, Director – KCM
