This extensive refurbishment and modernisation of two historically-significant but dated Grade II* listed buildings created much-needed additional accommodation and secured their long term future at the heart of Nottingham Trent University. An additional objective for the project was to create a more unified identity for the University whilst maintaining and enhancing as many of the existing buildings and features on the site due to cost and environmental concerns.

The residual space between the two existing buildings has been used to create a new main entrance and gateway from the surrounding community, as well as additional social and teaching spaces opening onto a covered central court and link building. A new external quadrangle has been carefully created through the partial demolition of the existing buildings to provide a new communal area for the University, the first and only open space in its City Centre campus. Redundant engineering workshops occupying the lower two levels of the Newton Building have been transformed into a suite of state-of-the-art lecture theatres and teaching rooms, defining a large central forum space designed to promote continuous informal academic interaction and study that flows into the space at all levels.

In order to deliver the project within budget, the project involved both radical structural intervention of existing fabric as well as careful upgrading. The demolition of the existing building to create a new open space required a rigorous design and justification to convince English Heritage, the Victorian Society and the Twentieth Century Society to support the project at a national level.