First look at £60m second graphene centre

The University of Manchester has released an artist’s impression of the £60m Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre set to be built on the site of the Faraday building on its North Campus, designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects.

The 90,500 sq ft block will be a research and development facility focusing on the practical applications of graphene and other 2D materials.

The GEIC will be one of several buildings in Manchester dedicated to graphene and 2D material research, alongside the £61m National Graphene Institute, which opened earlier this year, and the £235m Sir Henry Royce Institute for Materials Research and Innovation, set to be built within the University of Manchester’s Oxford Road campus.

The scheme is set to complete in 2017.

The GEIC will be partially funded by £15m from the Higher Education Funding Council England’s UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, £5m from Innovate UK and £30m from Masdar; the Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company owned by Mubadala. The remaining £10m will be provided by other research funds and institutions.

Vinoly was named as the architect on the project earlier this year. Rafael Vinoly Architects designed the 80-acre development of the Manchester City youth and first team academy at Openshaw West. Other significant projects include the 680,000 sq ft 20 Fenchurch Street, known as the Walkie-Talkie, in London.

Professor Colin Bailey, deputy president and deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Manchester, said: “The University of Manchester leads the world in graphene research and is one of the most significant centres of commercialisation of the material. The GEIC will be crucial to take graphene to the market and address issues such as scale-up and infrastructure.

“Alongside the University’s existing world-class facilities in graphene and advanced materials, the GEIC is essential to maintain the UK’s international leadership position in this area and ensure effective commercialisation of a UK discovery.”

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