He added: “There’s no reason why it couldn’t adapt. It’s flexible, the interior could be moved around.”
A spokesman for the University of Sunderland said it had commissioned a “full, up-to-date, independent building survey” in 2022, where external specialists concluded that a multimillion-pound investment would be required to address the longstanding problems with the building.
“The total cost of all the recommended remedial work was, based on independent advice, a minimum of £14m, and more likely nearer £45m,” he said.
“The report suggested there may be alternative replacement roofing options which could potentially reduce the total cost by between £2.5m-£4.5m.
“However, after careful consideration, the Board of Governors decided that none of the options outlined in the building survey report were affordable given that the bulk of the university’s income comes from student tuition fees and is spent on its core priority activities of learning, teaching, research, innovation, and knowledge exchange.”