The University of Exeter has selected Wilkinson Eyre Architects' design for its £48m forum project which will form a centerpiece of its Streatham campus.

The Forum Project will feature an extended and refurbished Library, student services, catering and retail outlets, a landscaped plaza and new University reception.

It is part of a £450m capital investment programme which is designed to propel Exeter into the top 10 UK universities by 2012.

David Allen, the university's registrar, said: 'The University of Exeter has one of the finest campuses in the world; so it was vitally important to come up with a design which was both iconic and sympathetic to the landscape.'

Design work will begin immediately, with completion anticipated by 2012.