A new £64 million development on Liverpool John Moores University’s (LJMU) city centre campus adjacent to Liverpool Lime Street Station. The landmark building functions as a vibrant Student Life hub and Sports building, renovated from the city’s defunct Royal Mail Sorting offices.

The scheme is divided into two individual structures: the first being a 5-storey ‘Student Life Building’ housing student-facing services and a 2-storey multi-purpose indoor sports facility; each linked by a curved architectural façade and a high quality public realm. The 1.4-hectare site is intended to improve connection between the Knowledge Quarter, Sensor City and Liverpool City Centre as part of a wider masterplan investment across the LJMU estate.

The Student Life Building comprise areas for group and individual study, advice and wellbeing centre and a dedicated Students’ Union. The Sports Building includes an 8 court sports hall, 3 multi-purpose halls and a state-of-the-art gym and office facilities. A series of events spaces have been strategically located across the site to allow for multiple events, performances and exhibitions. Break out spaces are provided in the form of open lawn areas and informal seating spaces, with continuous curved public pathways linking Lime Street station.

Sandy Brown provided acoustic advice for the scheme and reviewed relevant design aspects, specifically those concerning sound insulation, control of sound transfer in open-plan spaces, acoustic finishes and building services noise & vibration control.

High performance partitions and lobbied doors are recommended to spaces containing noisy activities or spaces sensitive to noise including the Radio Station and Club & Societies Area and Activity Room. Full-height partitions and acoustically rated doors are recommended for cellular spaces such as counselling rooms, training rooms and interview rooms. Guidance on sound absorption was also provided with recommendations for installation of sound masking systems to control background noise in large open-plan study areas. Where pod systems were proposed, minimum performances for solid elements were provided. Within the Sports Building, recommendations were made to the upper floor gym, weights gym and the ceiling in the ground floor plant room. In addition, recommendations were made to fit cardio equipment with appropriate anti-vibration mounts.