News: College celebrates campus completion

Rotherham College of Arts and Technology (RCAT) is celebrating the completion of the new Wentworth Building in Rotherham town centre.

The £8m build forms part of the college's long term plan to develop the Town Centre Campus. It provides a new focal point entrance for the campus development and houses high specification classrooms and facilities including IT rooms and Higher Education teaching and learning facilities.

Designed by Bond Bryan, additional elements make the building unique in making it environmentally friendly and cost effective.

From planning stages, the building followed the BREEAM rating framework - the world's leading environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings. As a result the building contains a series of environmentally friendly initiatives.

Gill Alton, principal and chief executive at RCAT said: "Looking after our environment is vitally important and we wanted our students to share the "green" experience and provide them with alternative, more environmentally friendly facilities.

"Opening up opportunities to businesses will help not only help with our relationship with the business community, it will also cement a brighter future for our students."

The heating and ventilation is controlled by a computer which allows the building to automatically cool itself using vents in the roof and all domestic hot water is heated by the solar water heating system.

The building is designed to utilise as much natural resource as possible and also has a "brown roof" to help attract new wildlife and blend in with the surroundings.

Students will be kept aware of energy efficiency. Solar PV cells power some of the power sockets within the building and as a result are marked green so students can charge their phones with "free" electricity.

RCAT website

Images: rotherham.ac.uk