Student Common Room, Grimsby College

Grimsby College Common Room completed in September 1998 received a Royal Institute of British Architects Design Award for 1999.

The project involved the improvement of recreational
facilities - providing bar, games, concert, events and dining areas. After stripping out partitions, a space was created on the ground floor of the main teaching and administration block and expanded with a timber-framed glazed extension overlooking a courtyard which creates an airy inside-outside space.

The bar is a robust drum which unfolds when open, providing bench seating; a wooden box houses vending machines and two box-like screens with holes punched through line up with circular windows. The 1960s concrete coffered ceiling has been exposed and services are suspended from it. The floor is reclaimed pitch pine, raised floor areas are reached by ramps, defined by plinths which act as seats.