The Diamond is a building in

Sheffield, South Yorkshire Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, part of the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

. Housing specialist engineering facilities as well as seminar room and open plan study spaces, it was completed in September 2015 at a cost of £81 million, the largest capital investment ever made by the university. It is situated on Leavygreave Road, between the Jessop Wing and St George's Church.

History

The Diamond was built to replace the Grade II-listed Edwardian wing of the

Jessop Hospital __NOTOC__ The Jessop Hospital for Women was a hospital in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. At the time of its closure in 2001, it was managed by the Central Sheffield University Hospitals NHS Trust. History Early history Following a larg ...

, taking over from the

Sir Frederick Mappin Building The Sir Frederick Mappin Building, or more familiarly the Mappin Building, is a grade II-listed building fronting onto Mappin Street, Sheffield, England, part of the University of Sheffield. The building and street (formerly Charlotte Street) are ...

as the new home of the Faculty of Engineering, the largest faculty at the university, with the goal to double student numbers in the faculty by 2021. Construction work began in July 2013 and the building opened in September 2015, in time for the start of that year's autumn semester.

Building

The building takes its name from its unique facade, which comprises a cellular pattern of interconnected diamond shapes made of anodised aluminium, inspired by the form of diamond at a molecular level, over a frame of reinforced concrete and exterior glass cladding. It has nine lecture theatres, nineteen laboratories and more than thirty classrooms, linked by a central atrium area with a large study space and a café. Within the atrium, curved pods house IT suites and small seminar rooms.

Reaction

Reaction to the building was mixed. It received a commendation from the

British Constructional Steelwork Association BCSA Ltd is a trade association for the structural steel industry in the UK and Ireland. It lobbies on behalf of its members, and provides them with education and technical services. A subsidiary, Steel Construction Certification Scheme Ltd, r ...

Structural Steel Design Awards for its design and construction, and MP for

Sheffield Central Sheffield Central is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Paul Blomfield, a member of the Labour Party. Boundaries ;First creation 1885–1918: The Municipal Borough of Sheffield wards of S ...

Paul Blomfield Paul Christopher Blomfield (born 25 August 1953) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Central since 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Shadow Minister for Exiting the European Union f ...

commented that the building would be ''"the jewel in the crown not only for the University itself, but also for the city''". It was shortlisted for the 2016

Carbuncle Cup The Carbuncle Cup was an architecture prize, given annually by the magazine ''Building Design'' to "the ugliest building in the United Kingdom completed in the last 12 months". It was intended to be a humorous response to the prestigious Stirlin ...

, awarded to the ugliest new building in the UK. The architectural magazine ''Building Design'' described it thus: ''"with the efficiency of a twin-thrust turbo engine, it commits sins on both the outside and the inside."''

References

{{SheffieldStructures University of Sheffield Sheffield University buildings and structures