Using space

The way we design and use our spaces has a big impact on how it feels to study, work and spend time at the University of Sheffield. Our campus stretches across more than 430 buildings and over half a million square metres of space, bringing together teaching rooms, labs, offices, libraries, residences, social spaces and green areas. It is a complex estate - and a huge opportunity.

We want every part of our campus to work harder for our community: more flexible teaching spaces that can adapt to different ways of learning, inspiring research environments, welcoming social areas, and a greener, more people-friendly public realm. At the same time, we know that historic growth has left us with more space per student and more office and research space per member of staff than many of our Russell Group peers. That extra space is not always high quality or well used, and it can mean higher carbon emissions, higher energy use and higher running costs than we need.

Through our Future Campus Framework and sustainability strategy, we are reshaping the estate so that it is better aligned with how people really study, teach, research and collaborate today. That means focusing investment on the right spaces in the right places: shared and multi-functional areas that are busy and well used, high-quality specialist facilities, and a greener public realm that supports biodiversity, wellbeing and active travel. It also means using robust data about space use and demand to guide decisions, so that we improve quality and experience while reducing wasted space, energy and cost.

For students, this will mean more consistent, modern and digitally connected teaching and study space; better designed labs and research environments; and a campus that feels easier to navigate, more coherent and more welcoming. For staff, it will mean offices and shared workspaces that reflect hybrid working patterns and support collaboration. For everyone, it will mean a campus that feels more joined up, greener and more enjoyable to spend time in - while also supporting our commitments on net zero and long-term financial sustainability.