Care on Every Floor

Located on the ground floor of the Pasteur Building, Library at Pasteur was one of the first elements of the Integrated Campus Library to be delivered. Completed in September 2022, the project remodelled 584m² of existing space to create a permanent library study “spoke,” introducing a mix of open study areas, enclosed rooms and varied furniture settings.

Although modest in scale, Pasteur played an important role as a working prototype. The result is a compact but important piece of the wider library strategy. Pasteur established the visual and spatial identity for the Integrated Campus Library, helping to define how future spaces would feel, function and support different modes of learning, and testing which types of study spoke were most popular and functionally successful.

Also completed in September 2022, Library at DGTC remodeled 716m² on Level 3 of the David Goldman Technology Centre. The project created a further library study "spoke”, providing a permanent home for the Literature Collection and a temporary home for a proportion of the Art Collection.

The space introduced a broader range of study environments, from open study areas and enclosed two-person to eight-person rooms, to larger syndicate rooms capable of becoming a twenty-person seminar space. Staff accommodation, self-check book system, collection search, Lapsafe storage, and library security systems were integrated into the plan, allowing the library to operate as both a practical collection space and a flexible learning environment.

Library at DGTC took the principles tested at Pasteur and applied them at greater scale. The palette of materials, furniture, lighting, and identity helped strengthen a recognisable library brand, while the careful planning of book decants allowed the university to maintain continuity during a complex period of change.

St Peter’s Library represents a major stage in the consolidation of the university’s library collections and study provision. The project involved the refurbishment of the existing Prospect Library at the Sir Tom Cowie Campus, supported by a new two-storey extension designed to accommodate collections and study spaces not already absorbed by the earlier library projects.

With a total floor area of 7,186m², including 1,453m² of new build and 5,733m² of refurbishment, the project was conceived as a new and refurbished library "hub” capable of consolidating most major collections providing a separate identifiable Law Library, a permanent home for the Art Collection, and a new dedicated Archive/Special Collection facility whilst creating a distinctive study hub for students, staff and visitors.

The design also addresses a practical challenge within the existing library: a dead-end circulation arrangement that limits wayfinding and the ease of document searches. The new extension helps resolve this by improving movement through the building, completing the study and collection circuit, and creating a more evident relationship between old and new.

Completed in March 2026, Library at Murray forms a further expansion of the Integrated Campus Library “spokes” and Phase 4 of Murray Health. Sitting within a building already transformed for health sciences education, the library provides a new home for the rationalised Health Sciences Collection and a rich range of study environments designed around student need. 

The project includes secluded study, contemplative study, collaborative group spaces, syndicate rooms, two-person and four-person pods, quiet and silent formal study, alongside a reception facility, staff offices, and support spaces. Rather than offering a single idea of what study should look like, the library recognises that students work in different ways at different points in the day, the term, and the academic journey. 

Reimagined in consultation with students, the space responds directly to feedback gathered through the university’s annual Big Talk to the Library survey and targeted workshops with student representatives. The completed library includes new individual and group study areas, spacious pods with built-in whiteboards, enhanced Wi-Fi, height-adjustable desks, acoustic baffles to reduce noise, upgraded heating and lighting, and a new helpdesk for students and staff.

“Reimagining the Library at Murray with our students has been truly inspiring. The new library reflects what matters to them, and we hope it provides study space that supports their learning, wellbeing, and success.”

Rachel Dolan  
Assistant Director of Student Journey for Libraries and Learner Development 

Across the University of Sunderland, the Integrated Campus Library programme has created a more coherent, student-centred library estate. Each project has a distinct role, but together they form a connected network of places to study, research, collaborate, pause and focus. 

The projects also show the value of working incrementally. Rather than delivering a single isolated intervention, the university and design team developed a family of spaces over time, learning from each phase and carrying those lessons into the next. This has allowed the Integrated Campus Library to become more than a brand or estate strategy. It is now a lived experience across the university’s campuses. 

Client feedback reflects the strength of that collaboration. Rachel Dolan spoke highly of her time working with SPACE, noting that the team involved library staff throughout and truly listened to the library team’s perspective as the end user. Phil Wallace also praised the project team, noting that the project ran smoothly in all aspects including concept, design, technical aspects, management, and delivery.