The Edith Murphy House is a substantial refurbishment of the De Montfort University business school. On the edge of their current campus the brief was to create a striking landmark to upgrade the facilities of the existing building and to provide an aid to campus ‘way finding’.

The existing building is fully refurbished to provide new classrooms and lecture theatre, along with a new support core which provides enhanced fire fighting and means of escape. The new support core houses two 13-person lifts and an ambulant standard staircase which has the shadow of a tree imprinted within the glass façade.

The intention of the glass stair is to draw attention to the movement of students and staff throughout the day and to ‘reverse’ at night, providing a striking silhouette on the ring road.