Five Years of Locksbrook
News
Celebrating five years of BSU’s award-winning Art and Design campus
Friday, 30 May, 2025Locksbrook Campus is Bath Spa University’s award-winning, state-of-the-art home to its Bath School of Art, Film and Media, and Bath School of Design, and this year it turns five.
The much-loved campus, which formally opened in March 2020, is the culmination of a major restoration project which saw the former Grade II listed Herman Miller factory re-purposed and remodelled by Grimshaw, the original factory’s architect, into a remarkable, contemporary new space.
Now a thriving hub for creativity at BSU, we look back at the remarkable achievements over the last five years of Locksbrook Campus:
2021
Still buzzing from its debut as a university campus, in 2021 the revitalised Locksbrook building was recognised at the prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects awards.
BSU’s commitment to creativity and sustainability shone through the awards announcement, giving new life to the building as well as considering its efficiency and ability to nurture the creative professionals of the future.
Reflecting on the restoration, the award announcement described Locksbrook Campus:
“Much admired at the time for its hi-tech architectural language, it was subsequently listed grade 2, unusual for the work of a living architect. Then, in 2016, Bath Spa University approached Grimshaw to transform this former industrial building into its Schools of Art and Design.
“Dramatically improving the building's energy performance involved carefully detaching, upgrading and reinstalling the buff coloured external cladding panels, and replacing the original single glazing with high performance triple glazed units.”
2022
As a new cohort of students stepped into the hive of activity at Locksbrook Campus, the core values of the University never waned. In 2022, BSU launched its first ever reusable cup design competition for students in partnership with Huskup.
The competition, which ran throughout November and December 2022, invited the University’s students to create a hedgehog-themed design, with the winning creation being printed onto Huskcups – reusable cups made using rice husks.
Forming a key part of the University's efforts to end its use of single-use plastics, the winning artwork was created by BA (Hons) Graphic Design student Ella Smith.
Speaking of why she took part in the competition, Ella said:
“I was inspired to take part in the Huskup competition because I value the importance of wildlife preservation. I was excited to collaborate with a brand that so highly cares for the environment.”
The hedgehog design cups remain available in BSU’s catering outlets today.
2023
Going from strength to strength, 2023 saw the announcement of BSU's world leading fashion and sustainability project. Fruitful discussions hosted from this thriving campus with international partners and other core fashion industry stakeholders led to BSU’s fashion experts developing a world-leading project around fashion and sustainability in the city – The National Centre for Fashion and Sustainability.
Speaking about the announcement, Andy Salmon, Pro-Vice-Chancellor External at Bath Spa University, said:
“This is incredibly exciting for the University, our students, the city, wider community and the fashion industry alike... The two threads of fashion and sustainability are now necessarily and inevitably interwoven, and Bath Spa is at the very forefront of these challenges and changes.”
2024
As Locksbrook became embedded in the canvas of the University, so did exhibitions of stunning creativity and artwork in the campus’ Michael Pennie Gallery, with the sought after Porthleven Prize among those on display in 2024.
The prize, sponsored by The Trevor Osborne Charitable Trust, empowers BSU students from all year groups and disciplines to experiment and collaborate, working together to create a touring exhibition of creative work.
Tides That Bind was the culmination of the 11th annual Porthleven Prize. The 2024 prize winners were selected from all year groups and disciplines across the institution.
Porthleven Prize Coordinator, Simone Hesselberg, said:
“This year’s Porthleven Prize has had a huge impact on the students involved. By encouraging risk-taking and cross-disciplinary collaboration, the residency has positively changed the creative direction of students.”
2025
As the University headed into 2025, BSU has made sharing the skills, experience and creativity it has on offer a priority. Based at Locksbrook Campus, the University's Short Course unit has recently introduced a new series of creative short courses, titled Unlocking Locksbrook, to coincide with the annual Undergraduate Degree Show.
Spanning from machine embroidery and ceramics to photo etching and fabric printing, the courses will shine a light on BSU’s unique art and design campus, with each specifically designed to be available for anyone looking to explore or develop their creative side.
Hannah Whiting, Head of Business Development commented:
"We’ve developed a series of innovative short courses in a range of subjects, that have helped over 200 BSU alumni and residents pursue their interests. We're excited to work with our colleagues at Locksbrook Campus to offer courses designed to unlock participants' creativity, and open Locksbrook up more widely to our local community."
All available courses will run throughout the month of June and will be taught by artists at Locksbrook campus.