Education Property Awards

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BSU’s Locksbrook Campus wins at Education Property Awards

Wednesday, 28 May, 2025

Bath Spa University is known for its beautiful campus spaces and Locksbrook Campus is no exception. An architectural reflection of the many thriving creative and design courses that are held there, it’s no surprise that the Grade II listed building is an award recipient from the Education Property Awards.

With the Awards in their first year, it is a huge commendation to be named ‘Higher or Further Education Project of the Year.’ As their website states: 

“This award recognises excellence in the design and delivery of higher and further education facilities, including both new-build and refurbishment schemes.”

Organised by Nexus Media Group (the publisher of Education Property magazine), the Awards were launched to recognise innovative projects, organisations, and individuals in the education property space.

The ceremony took place in Leeds, spanning 13 categories, and hosted by celebrity guest, Keith Farnan. According to the judges, Locksbrook is ‘A brilliant project which demonstrates how, through retrofit, built-in flexibility can keep it relevant to the 21st century.’ 

Five years ago, the building underwent a redesign to maximise teaching space and promote community areas with opportunities to sell and display student and graduate work. Originally designed by world-renowned architect Nicholas Grimshaw in 1976, BSU worked closely with the Grimshaw team to transform the site into a facility for aspiring creatives to flourish. 

Senior lecturer in Architecture, Ian Parkes, commented: 

"The Locksbrook building is an outstanding place for teaching and learning creative practices from across the arts and design. Building on a heritage of creative excellence, the Grimshaw reworking of the original  Herman Miller  ‘Action Factory’ embraces its history, readies it for the future, and enables the fantastic thinking-through-making embedded in all our students’ work.  

He continued: 

“Locksbrook is a building of layers, from its industrial past to the vibrant workshops and studios where our students now create and leave their own mark. This recognition celebrates not only the architecture of the building but also the thriving creative communities within. 

It is great to see this excellence recognised in the Education Property Award. We’re proud of Locksbrook’s past and excited for its future."