Warburg Renaissance project update: December 2023

Ground Floor and Basement

In mid-September Quinn London took possession of the ground and basement floors and commenced Phase 3 of the refurbishment project. The very noisy demolition of brick walls took place in the third week of the month, with the Institute Welcome Week commencing the following Monday 25 September. 

Since then, teams have been working on the stripping out of redundant materials. This includes the removal of asbestos from the covered floor trench in the basement. Any further noisy demolition work will be confined to the ‘Noisy Working’ hours before 10am and between midday and 2pm. At the time of writing the installation of new partitioning and mechanical/electrical infrastructure is proceeding on schedule.

The completion of Phase 3 is now targeted to complete at the end of May 2024. This will then be followed by a fit-out period where new furniture will be installed and materials stored off-site during the construction period will be returned and reinstated in their new home.

Change of Entrance

The switch from the Warburg front doors to the Slade School of Fine Art entrance next door took place on Tuesday 19 September. The main Warburg Reception is now on the 1st floor, co-located with the Library Enquiries team. External signage has been installed to direct people to the new entrance.

There was a delay in the commissioning of the new intercom system but this is now up and running and enables Warburg Reception staff to ‘buzz’ people into the building. We request that staff, students, and readers please be vigilant when using the Slade’s entrance and do not allow tailgating to occur when being buzzed in.

The Courtyard Extension

The final stage of work forming the concrete frame of the courtyard extension includes an elliptical ceiling beam which will be a key feature of the new lecture room. The elliptical shape references the elliptical roof light in the reading room of the Kulturwissenschaftliche Bibliothek Warburg (KBW) in Hamburg.

The complex formwork was machine fabricated off-site and was positioned and reinforced by the on-site team prior to casting with self-compacting concrete. The installation of the roof slab at the beginning of December 2023, marked a significant milestone in the construction process. With this key component now in place, attention has shifted from constructing the concrete frame to creating the envelop of the new extension. This will involve the installation of the brickwork cladding, full-height glazing, and the fitting of the atrium glazing to enclose the double-height space between the existing courtyard facades and the new lecture room at ground floor.

The complex formwork was machine fabricated off-site and was positioned and reinforced by the on-site team prior to casting with self-compacting concrete. The installation of the roof slab at the beginning of December 2023, marked a significant milestone in the construction process. With this key component now in place, attention has shifted from constructing the concrete frame to creating the envelop of the new extension. This will involve the installation of the brickwork cladding, full-height glazing, and the fitting of the atrium glazing to enclose the double-height space between the existing courtyard facades and the new lecture room at ground floor.