Benham Campus is a 13 acre extension to the original University of Southampton Science Park and the practice were appointed to convert an extant low-density outline planning permission attained by the practice many years previously into a full planning approval. This totalled 9,500 square metres of built space supported by over 300 car parking spaces set within a landscaped parkland.
The site was subject to a number of design constraints. It is close to the M27 motorway and visual and acoustic screening were a local authority requirement necessitating the construction of an earth bund parallel to the motorway. Similarly, access to the site is restricted to one corner and the council imposed strict height limitations on the buildings.
The site slopes dramatically to one corner and there is a water course running across the site which required extensive tanking to the retaining walls of one of the buildings. The outlet to the water course was created within new perimeter gabion walls which retained the parking areas.
By utilising the slope of the site, the campus accommodates two, three and four storey buildings with floor areas ranging from 900 square metres to 2,800 square metres across 5 buildings.
Each building comprises a central service and access core connected to either two or three open plan accommodation wings. These wings can be further subdivided as required for tenant use.
A coffee shop and meeting rooms have been included so the campus is self-sufficient from the main Science Park.
A similar materials pallet has been used for each building with blue and red bricks with grey metal cladding and roofing.