Laing O’Rourke wins £150m Crick of the North

Laing O’Rourke is finalising details for construction of the Sir Henry Royce Institute For Advanced Materials in Manchester.

The firm has been working with Manchester University under a preconstruction agreement and is now set to sign a contract for construction to start in March, subject to planning.

Manchester University submitted plans for the new materials research centre last week.

The 46m tall building is expected to cost £150m and is expected to open in 2019.

Once built the nine floor building will consist of a mix of high-tech laboratories and offices and will rank as the tallest building at the University Oxford Road Campus.

It will act as a hub, bring together a series of research themes under one roof and has been described as ‘The Crick of the North’.

Former Chancellor George Osborne announced the Government would be funding the project back in the 2014 Autumn statement, in a similar way that Gordon Brown, then prime minister, backed the Crick Institute for biomedical research in London, which Laing O’Rourke also built.

The 165,000 sq ft Sir Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials will become an international flagship for the discovery and development of new materials systems.

The laboratories will be designed to bio-containment level 2; a number will accommodate heavy equipment and some laboratories, including those at basement level, will provide a vibration-sensitive environment.

Construction activities will comprise piled foundations and contiguous piled wall to create the basement to the West side of the building. Laing O’Rourke will use pre-manufactured concrete systems for the super structure.

The facade concept interlocks stepping solid and glazed areas into a high performance composition analogous to the scientific work within the building.