Thursday, November 20, 2025

Summers-Inman reports timely progress on university refurbishment projects

Award-winning construction and property consultancy, Summers-Inman, has reported timely progress on two projects at the University of York. 

Both form part of the university’s evolution of its campus to give staff, students and visitors the best experience during their time in York. 

Summers-Inman, acting as project manager and quantity surveyor on both projects, won a competitive tender to secure the appointments.  

The first project relates to the extensive refurbishment and reconfiguration of part of the ground and second floors within the Piazza Building on Campus East to accommodate the growth of the York School of Architecture. 

The second project involves the refurbishment of the second floor of an existing four-storey building to create a professional services hub. 

Commenting on the refurbishment work at the Hub, the University of York’s Assistant Director, Capital Development, Robin Beattie, said:  “The Hub is part of the university’s plan to make better use of its properties and will offer a variety of spaces to suit different ways of working to provide a flexible workspace for our teams. 

“Extensive refurbishment has been undertaken to provide world-class student facilities including presentation and social areas, office accommodation, collaborative working spaces, meeting rooms and a refreshment area. 

“By moving some professional services teams into this modern building, we will be able to leave other spaces such as Heslington Hall. This helps us streamline our operations and ensures we are creating high-quality, effective workspaces across all our locations.”   

Work began in June 2025, and it is anticipated that teams will start to move in from December 2025.  

Summers-Inman director, David Blakey, said: “We were delighted with our appointment to these projects – our first at the university – although we have extensive higher education experience gained on similar projects elsewhere. 

“Working on a live site without disrupting everyday activities to execute refurbishment works is always challenging. Fortunately, our experience makes a significant difference and construction work has gone without a hitch. 

“We are delivering advanced acoustic solutions to address previous complaints about noise and at the same time, significantly enhancing user comfort featuring integrated upgraded meeting rooms with digital conferencing technology. We have also promoted sustainability through the extensive reuse and recycling of existing furniture in alignment with the university’s sustainability objectives. 

“We are hopeful that our success on these two projects will generate further work for us at the University of York campus – we place great emphasis on establishing strong working relationships with all our clients – and we are keen to grow our experience base and workload in Yorkshire.” 








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