Howarth Litchfield was appointed in February 2016 to develop concept proposals by the University’s Design Office for the latest in a series of recent successful refurbishment phases undertaken throughout the building, designed to make it a more coherent, elegant, practical and liveable building for its end users.

The Main Boiler House was built in 1923 and holds a strategic position on the campus of Newcastle University adjoining the Student Union, the main façade of the Armstrong Building and addresses the Student Forum. The refurbishment works undertaken between January 2017 to October 2017 have converted the redundant half of the building into a large multi-purpose events space that can be used by the University for congregation receptions, exhibitions, social events and musical performances.