Architects submit plans for £40m development at Yorkshire university

BIRMINGHAM firm Associated Architects has submitted plans for a £40m development at the University of Leeds.

The University Innovation and Enterprise Centre (UIEC) will deliver 108,000 sq ft of space to be made up of a mix of offices, laboratories, lecture theatres and a public cafe as part of the University of Leeds masterplan.

A team has been put together to deliver the building including engineers from Curtins and Ramboll, quantity surveyors Res Procter & Partners and landscape architects Plincke.

Led by Associated Architects, the seven storey development will have a triple height atrium which doubles as an events space.

The scheme is scheduled to begin on site in January with an 84-week build time, which would see it completed in August 2018.

Plans have been in the works for several years, and the project obtained £3m from the Government’s Local Growth Deal in 2015.

At the time, Sir Alan Langlands, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, said: “The new University Innovation and Enterprise Centre will accelerate business creation, business growth and innovation in the Leeds City Region and beyond.

“It will establish a high quality business-facing gateway to ensure that external partners access and engage with knowledge, research and capabilities at the University. We will grow provision in the region for emerging science and technology firms and increase even further the impact of our staff and students.”