QUEEN'S University is planning to knock down its students' union building and replace it with a new `integrated student centre'.
The university is seeking an architect for a new £25 million building project which, if approved, would open in 2020.
Some students are unhappy with the proposals and have already launched an online campaign - which has been signed by over 6,000 people - to halt the demolition of the building which includes the 2,000-capacity Mandela Hall concert venue.
One of Northern Ireland's best-known live music venues, it has attracted bands including Radiohead who played one of their biggest secret shows there in the 1990s and Shine nightclub attracted some of dance music's best acts.
A Change.org petition said: "Please support us to prevent the possible closure of a venue that has hosted massive student club nights, comedy shows, DJ sets, live concerts and everything in between by some of the biggest names in the business."
It is understood that the new centre, which would stand on the same site, will include an entertainment venue.
The existing students' union was constructed in 1967 and was designed for just 6,000 students. It received an £8.8m refurbishment a decade ago. There are now more than 24,000 students using the union's facilities.
A Queen's spokesman confirmed that the university had placed a tender for an architect-led design team. The brief for the new building envisages a total area of approximately 11,000 metres-squared over numerous floors.
He said the university had initiated a project involving "all the relevant stakeholders, including the students' union, to explore the potential development of an integrated student centre".
"The project, which is aligned to both the Students' Union Strategic Plan 2015-20 and Vision 2020, has the potential to deliver an integrated hub for student services - this project remains very much at the pre-feasibility and concept stage," he said.
Students' union president Caoímhe McNeill said on Wednesday the conversation about the need for the redevelopment of the union started back in 2011. This, she said, was based on feedback from students in several annual surveys.
"The feedback highlighted that our students want to see investment and improvements to the students' union building," she said.
"Based on this the university embarked on a feasibility project in partnership with the students' union and I have been involved in the project, both during my time as student officer for equality and diversity and now as president.
"It's a project very much in the early stages but my priority is, of course, to ensure that if the redevelopment goes ahead that it serves the needs of Queen's students and provides them with a full range of support, advice, representational, developmental and commercial services that will significantly enhance their experience at Queen's."
