Campus life can be about so much more than learning; it can host education and collaboration, knowledge and interaction. Therefore, most successful education projects do more than build a new space, and when they’re delivered really well, .they do so while protecting the day-to-day experience of the people who rely on that campus every single day.

At Exeter College, the delivery of the new Centre for Law & Social Sciences came with a challenge: create a major new academic building but maintain a fully operational college. Students still needed to learn, staff still needed to teach, and campus life needed to continue uninterrupted. AWW relish a challenge and we met this one head on! 

It required careful planning, close collaboration and a shared commitment from every partner involved. From the outset we worked closely with the college to establish a brief to minimise demolition and retain as much of the existing estate in a functional state as possible.

From the outset, the project team understood that construction could not happen in isolation. Working within a live education environment meant programme decisions, logistics and sequencing all had to consider the rhythm of the College day. Access routes, safety, noise management and operational continuity were just as important as programme milestones and technical delivery.

This is where our partnership with contractor Willmott Dixon made all the difference. It meant careful preplanning of the site to allow safe access and spaces for each phase of the development – demolition, construction and the new building - was possible.  This included the retention of the principal fire service and delivery access for the entire campus throughout the build.

Strong teamwork between Exeter College, Willmott Dixon, consultants and AWW resulted in a joined up approach from day one. Clear communication, regular coordination and a collective focus on problem solving helped the team respond quickly, minimise disruption and keep momentum on site.

Digital coordination also played a key role. Through the use of BIM, the team was able to collaborate more effectively, coordinate complex information and identify issues early before they became challenges on site. With multiple disciplines working together, BIM provided greater clarity, reduced risk and supported smarter decision making throughout the build process.

This meant not only a smoother delivery process, but a more efficient one.

A major milestone came when one floor of the building was completed weeks ahead of the programme. Early occupation allowed the College to begin benefiting from new teaching space sooner than expected, easing pressure on the existing estate and creating immediate value for staff and students.

That early handover shows what can be achieved when programme management, technical coordination and collaboration align.

Too often, project success is measured only at completion. But for live campus environments, success must also be measured by what happens during construction. Did teaching continue? Were stakeholders supported? Was disruption minimised? Did the building start delivering value as early as possible?

At Exeter College, the answer to every one of these was yes.

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