The Ruskin Glass Centre is part of the Glasshouse College campus run by Ruskin Mill Educational Trust (RMET) and was completed in September 2010. The building is a commercial centre and visitor facility which uses the local Heritage of Glassmaking as a focus for the College.
The Phase 1 building has been extensively refurbished but retains and re-uses much of the fabric and structure of the old Glasshouse to provide new smaller independent commercial workshops – a series of incubator units for startup businesses with a managed workspace providing equipment for hire.
A visitor cafe and exhibition area takes the central space to encourage visitors into the complex and help smaller businesses to grow.
The College’s ethos is to provide education through involvement with crafts and heritage, and as a result many local craftspeople involved with Glassmaking in the area have become a part of the College.
Students from the college will be given vocational experience as part of a wide ranging curriculum and will be encouraged to help businesses, to prepare food grown locally from a College owned farm, or help maintain the building. There is also a series of glass castings which will be prepared by students which will form part of the final interior fit out.
The funding for this project was only £1.2 million which meant we needed to work very hard with what was an almost derelict shed.
- Re-use of structure and fabric where possible
- A-rated materials used for new structure and fabric
- Low energy lighting and appliances
- Low Nox Heating
- Improved u-values over building regulations
- Good user involvement, consultation and discussion
- On site recycling
- Encouragement for public transport or cycling with changing and showers provided