The University of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, has opened a new landmark building called “the Diamond”. It is named after its distinctive anodised aluminium and glass facade, which draws inspiration from the detailing of the surrounding historic buildings and in particular the stone tracery that frames the windows of the adjacent church. The building's design also references “cellular automaton”, a model studied in the field of engineering and used by the University to describe how the microstructure of steel changes during processing.

The Diamond cost a staggering £81 million to build — the largest capital investment in teaching and learning ever undertaken by the University. In return, the University hopes that the building will help support its ambition of becoming the UK’s leading engineering university and doubling the size of the Faculty of Engineering by 2021.