Sustainable Geospatial Building Opens

A new GBP4.5 million Geospatial Building has been completed by a trio of Nottinghamshire firms. Located in the University's Innovation Park, close to the Jubilee Campus, the project is a regional beacon in terms of research and training facilities.

 

The three storey building will be the new home for the University's Centre for Geospatial Science, the Galileo Research and Applications Centre of Excellence (GRACE) and the Institute of Engineering Surveying and Space Geodesy (IESSG).

The new three-storey centre has been designed by a team of three Nottingham-based firms: maber architects, mechanical and electrical consultants d3-Shipway and structural engineers Price & Myers - who together won a national competition to design the Centre. The project was delivered by cost management consultants, the WT Partnership and Clegg Construction.

Professor Alan Dodson, The University of Nottingham's Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Infrastructure and Environment, said: "We welcome the innovative new Nottingham Geospatial Building, which contributes significantly to the ongoing regeneration of the area of Nottingham now known as the University's Jubilee Campus.

Sustainability has been at the forefront of the design and build with several techniques used to provide low energy solutions for the new centre. As a result, the building attained a BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) ‘excellent' design-stage rating. This will be part of the University's commitment to reducing energy and CO2 emissions.

Nick Keightley, director of maber architects, said: "Nottingham Geospatial is a project which combines high quality design with integrated sustainable solutions. The result is a bold and innovative building of which we are all very proud."

Stuart Bates, director of WT Partnership, said: "Having previously been appointed as quantity surveyors on the University's Sustainable Research Building and the School of Veterinary Medicine, we were delighted to have been chosen, once again, to work on this prestigious project."
Clegg Construction's managing director Simon Blackburn said: "We are extremely pleased to have been involved in a project that will enhance the region's reputation as a centre of science excellence. We have a strong track record of delivering construction solutions for the education sector and we are very proud to have this important building within our portfolio."

Daman Ranby, director of Edmond Shipway said: "The sustainability strategy for the building and in particular energy reduction was a key driver in winning the project competition. We are delighted with the end result and will continue to monitor how well design performs over the next 12 months."
Steve Wickham, partner at Price and Myers, said: "The structure is an integral part of the whole building contributing to the environmental control and the architecture. A solution was found that combined all these elements and resulted in an economic and efficient structure. We are delighted to be part of the team which delivered this successful project."

Nick Bunford, director of Sand Project Management said: "We were delighted to be given the opportunity to provide project management services for The University of Nottingham. The success of GRACE has now been reflected with two new commissions with The University of Nottingham, notably the £7m Bioenergy scheme and the £7m Biosciences scheme to which we are providing PM/ QS and BREEAM services for The University of Nottingham."

The building also carries a computerised Building Management System (BMS) - to ensure energy is used efficiently, passive ventilation and biomass renewable energy.
The bold and innovative design for the building includes a striking zinc clad pavilion, a wedge shaped atrium space and a rooftop laboratory area.