Slough’s iconic Curve opens to the public

Forming an important part of Slough’s town centre regeneration, the long-awaited £22M Curve learning centre has opened to the public.

Councillor Phillip Wright said this is an iconic community building.

“You’re going to see a different Slough now. It’s a community-based building and we want the community to use it.”
The Curve (see NSC Feb 2015)  is a steel-framed building rectangular in shape and plan. Each of the building’s elevations feature either cantilevers or sloping and curving facades.

The main north side presenting the most striking aspect with a long sweeping, predominantly glazed, elevation looking on to the adjacent listed St Ethelbert’s Church.

The three-level building is 89.7m long, 15.5m high and has a width, which is 34m at its maximum and 16.5m at its narrowest.

With an overall floor space of 4,500m², the centre houses a library, café, office space and a 280-seat performance space.

Working on behalf of main contractor Morgan Sindall, Caunton Engineering erected 370t of structural steelwork for the project.

Initially the Curve was to be built with reinforced concrete, but a redesign of the project, instigated by Morgan Sindall and involving project engineer Peter Brett Associates, resulted in the frame changing to structural steelwork.