Princess Anne to open new £140m campus

The new £140m Boldrewood Innovation Campus will be publicly unveiled tomorrow by Princess Anne. The official website of The British Monarchy has confirmed that the Princess Royal, as part of […]


The new £140m Boldrewood Innovation Campus will be publicly unveiled tomorrow by Princess Anne.

The official website of The British Monarchy has confirmed that the Princess Royal, as part of her one day tour of Hampshire, will be visiting Southampton to unveil the new Campus.

Although no official time has been given as to when she will be arriving at the University, she has a prior engagement in Portsmouth, so it will not be her first point of call.

Princess Anne already has a strong connection with the University after the maternity wing at the Southampton General Hospital, affiliated with the University, was named after her.

Boldrewood Innovation Campus is Southampton University’s most up-to-date building, providing education for a number of disciplines, particularly maritime engineering.

Although the main building opened in 2014, changes have taken place throughout the past year so that the Campus continues to house the latest equipment and laboratories for its students.

One of the most significant modifications to Boldrewood Campus is the construction of the Lloyd’s Register Global Technology Centre. The completion of this structure is the main reason for the visit by Princess Anne.

Vice-Chancellor Don Nutbeam said: “This new campus will enable us to build on our world-leading research and enterprise activities and enhance our capacity to make major advances and innovation.”

“Our proven track-record includes working in partnership with the RNLI to help maintain its fleet, collaborating with Lloyd’s Register and other industrial partners to make ships more environmentally friendly and developing autonomous vehicles and systems to explore our oceans and revolutionise aircraft design,”

“All of which can provide British businesses with innovative technologies and help transform the UK economy.”

Grimshaw, the architects of the project say on their website that the creation of this Campus will unify the University of Southampton and Lloyd’s Register, a business and maritime organisation, so that they can focus on future maritime developments.

Grimshaw’s original design of Boldrewood Innovation Campus

So, for the royalists of Southampton University make sure you head down to Boldrewood Innovation Campus tomorrow to see one of the busiest royals in action, before she leaves for her next engagement of the day.

Will you be attending the royal opening? Let us know in the comments below!