WORK has begun on a multi-million pound campus expansion at the University of York.

The ‘Piazza Learning Centre’ at the university’s Campus East will house teaching facilities and learning spaces, as part of a £27million scheme on the campus.

The new building will feature 36 flexible learning spaces, including two laboratories, a 350-seat auditorium, and a 100-seat lecture theatre.

There will also be a 300-seat restaurant, as well as staff areas and offices spread across 6,800 m2.

Construction company Interserve has secured a £17million contract to design and build the three-storey development.

The building will be used by the university’s International Pathway College (IPC), as well as providing additional teaching space for Campus East.

Dr Matthew Perry, director of the IPC, said: “This will be a fantastic teaching and learning space for staff and students and is indicative of the scale of ambition at the University of York and our confidence in the IPC’s ability to attract students from all over the world.

“We’re already looking forward to moving in.”

The IPC, a joint venture between the University of York and Kaplan, provides academic preparation programmes for international students prior to them progressing to their undergraduate and postgraduate studies within the university.

Work on site is now underway, with the project due to be completed in November 2017.

John Gittins, who is the divisional director at Interserve, said: “We are looking forward to further strengthening our relationship with the University of York as it continues to both expand and renew its facilities.

“At Interserve we are committed to investing in the communities in which we work and we will be continuing to engage with the local supply chain as well as creating new job opportunities for local people.”

Interserve hopes to achieve a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method ‘very good’ rating for the project.

The development is Interserve’s second project with the University of York.

It is also constructing a three-storey building with teaching facilities and laboratories as part of a £16million development at the university’s Heslington West campus.

This will feature wet laboratories, interactive spaces for students and a student services and administration centre, as well as an atrium linking it with the nearby biomedical and natural sciences building.

Building work started in July 2015, and the project is due to be complete next week.

Meanwhile, a new teaching block is set to open at Campus East for the start of the 2016/17 term.

Construction work started on this building in autumn 2015.