John Lennon Art and Design Building
# John Lennon Art and Design Building

The John Lennon Art and Design Building (formerly the Art and Design Academy) in Liverpool, England, houses Liverpool John Moores University's School of Art and Design. The school was formerly located at the Grade II listed Liverpool College of Art, which now houses LJMU's School of Humanities and Social Science.

It is located at Duckinfield Street in LJMU's Mount Pleasant Campus, immediately adjacent to the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. The six-storey building was constructed between 2005 and 2008 at a cost of £27 million. The RIBA award winning John Lennon Art and Design Building was designed by Rick Mather Architects, during construction the contractor was Wates Construction and the structural and services engineer was Ramboll UK. The building was officially renamed on the 1 July 2013 after John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, gave the university her blessing to use the Lennon name in recognition of her husband's links with the College of Art and the City of Liverpool.

The John Lennon Art and Design Building has a gross internal area of 11,608 $m^2$ (124,950 sq ft) and contains 175 $m^2$ (1,880 sq ft) of public exhibition space, alongside a number of lecture theatres, seminar rooms and a large auditorium. ICT facilities, workshops and a café are also located in the building – which is also available for conference venue and facility hire. The building houses a public gallery and a public café.

## History

Liverpool School of Art and Design is the oldest art and design school in England outside London. In 1825, Liverpool Mechanics’ School of Art Institute was established, providing and education for working men. In 1856 the school had changed name to become The Liverpool Institute and School of Art. This then moved to Liverpool College of Art on Hope Street in 1880 to a new building to house the School of Art. In 2000, the school developed to cater for a much broader field of subjects and it moved into the current building in 2008.

## Awards

The building has received several awards. In 2011 it received the Civic Trust Award and in 2010 it received the WAN Education Sector Award.

## Exhibitions

The school has hosted several exhibitions, including the prestigious RIBA President's Medals Students Award. Each year the school hosts a degree show with students displaying work from Architecture, Fashion, Fine Art and Graphic Design and Illustration. The fashion graduates also present their work in a fashion show. The school hosts the Exhibition Research Centre, the UK's first centre for the study of exhibition cultures. Opened in 2012, the ERC has hosted exhibitions of work by Adrian Henri, György Kepes and L’Internationale.

## Alumni

* Kay Anderson - painter
* Margaret Blundell - painter
* Dorothy Bradford - painter
* May Louise Greville Cooksey - painter
* Bill Drummond – musician, artist
* Edith Edmonds - painter
* David Gray – musician
* Jane Greenwood – costume designer
* Shirley Hughes – author and illustrator
* John Lennon – musician
* Don McKinlay - painter, sculptor, printmaker*
* Stanley Reed - painter
* Phoebe Stabler - sculptor
* Norman Thelwell – cartoonist
* Pat Jourdan - painter , writer

## Gallery

* Corridor
* Gallery
* Studio space in the degree show
