Flagship university building handed over

A new university building designed by international MEP consultancy CPW has been handed over to the University of Birmingham.

The £80m Molecular Sciences Building will be the base for more than 500 scientists leading the field in world-class research in chemical, environmental and biomolecular sciences.

Antonios Agapakis, director at CPW, said: “This has been a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate our skills in bringing progressive and sustainable buildings to life, which will have a positive effect on the environment and our net zero carbon ambitions.

“It has been a major project involving in-depth collaboration with a number of partners and the result is a world-class facility that can take the university’s research in these pioneering fields to new levels.”

The first phase has been a collaboration with the university, led by Morgan Sindall Construction working with CPW, Associated Architects, Ramboll and MGAC.

CPW’s involvement followed the success of its complex work on the university’s new £40m energy-efficient Collaborative Teaching Laboratory on the Edgbaston campus, reaching both BREEAM Excellent and EPC A ratings.

The Molecular Sciences building will provide a designated hub for the university’s School of Chemistry and facilities for the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES).

Trevor Payne, the University of Birmingham’s director of estates, said: “This building is vital in developing important research and enabling spaces for academic and commercial partnerships to flourish. It also reflects our ambition to create a sustainable and fully connected campus for the future, which we must thank our experienced project partners, such as CPW, in supporting us with.

“The building has innovative technology and solutions built into its fabric. And we hope it will spark greater collaboration between different teams just by nature of being in the same building – that’s quite often where the best ideas happen.”