Emily Wilding Davison Building

Background

The Emily Wilding Davison Building opened its doors in September 2017 and was formally opened on 18^th October 2017 by Princess Anne, Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal and Chancellor of the University of London. The building, named after the famous suffragette, Emily Wilding Davison, a student at Royal Holloway in 1893, brings together a range of student-facing services under one roof. It is the physical manifestation of a strategy to put students first and to deliver consistent, joined-up services to enhance the student experience. The building brings together an extensive new library, a student services centre, a careers and employability service, exhibition and events spaces, a café, a shop and bank.

The library forms the largest part of the building, replacing the previous two-site operation apart from the original Victorian reading room, restored and renovated in the Founder’s building in 2018.

The case for an improved and enlarged library had been articulated strongly by students over a number of years, in particular as the student population grew from approximately 4,500 in 1993 to nearly 10,000 in 2017.

Principles

By February 2013, the key principles of function and design underpinning the new library had been agreed:

• meet changing social trends and behaviours
• reflect the size, shape and anticipated growth of Royal Holloway
• reflect trends of information-seeking behaviour
• meet the needs of the smartphone generation
• be IT rich and satisfy the digital, networking and connectivity demands of its users
• flexibility, providing a balance between research and learning space
• easy to use, focusing on self-service where possible
• comfort and sense of place
• environment conducive to reflection and silent study, whilst also providing collaborative study space and group study rooms
• cultural dimension through displays and events
• open all hours
• collocation with other essential facilities and services that students and researchers need as they live their day and plan their future
• provide postgraduate research students with an exclusive research and study environment

Design and Construction

Work began on site in July 2015 and construction was completed in summer 2017. Planning principles were realised, including  the following:

• 10,600 sqm, gross internal floor area (whole building), adding 13% of new academic space
• atrium covering the street and joining all the services within the building
• Library opening hours: 24/7/350
• 11,000 linear metres of shelving
• reading room dedicated to postgraduate researchers
• high use teaching collection  (1.5 km of fixed, open shelving on Ground Floor populated with essential and recommended reading list materials)
• bookable group study rooms
• archives reading room
• purpose-built storage space to PD5454 standard for preservation of archive collections
• art store, quarantine room
• exhibition space meeting government indemnity standards
• open plan office for all library staff, enabling staff to work more efficiently together

The design incorporated external space between the new building and the magnificent Victorian Founder’s Building directly opposite. The landscaping of the space and its transformation into Founder’s Square have provided a focal point at the heart of the campus and Royal Holloway’s community.

Post-Occupancy

When the Davison Building was opened, student reaction was captured throughout the building on boards to which students could apply post-it notes giving their feedback and impressions. This was overwhelmingly positive and was captured in a ‘Wordle’.