Graphene centre work on schedule
Bam Construction has six months left to go on the build and fit-out of the £61m National Graphene Institute for the University of Manchester [GALLERY].
Work started on the NGI in 2013 and is due to officially complete in March 2015. Funded by £38m from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council and £23m from the European Regional Development Fund, it will provide a centre for industry and university academics to work on emerging graphene applications.
Located at the main university campus on Booth Street East, the NGI is housed within an 81,000 sq ft five-storey building, with a 16,000 sq ft cleanroom research lab for graphene scientists to collaborate with their colleagues from industry and other UK universities. The building also contains laser, optical, metrology and chemical laboratories, seminar room, offices and ancillary accommodation.
See below for gallery and video
Bam Construction is building the NGI, which was designed by architect Jestico + Whiles.
The project team includes EC Harris as lead consultant on project and cost management, and CH2M Hill as the technical architecture and M&E consultant. The Bam design and build team incorporates Jestico + Whiles, and civil and structural engineers from Ramboll.
Out of Bam's £35m contract, £14m has been put towards the M&E in the building. The NGI has been constructed as two isolated concrete structures to ensure minimal vibration.
Graphene was isolated by the university's Nobel prize-winning professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov in 2004. The university has more than 100 scientists and engineers working on graphene and other 2D materials.
The NGI is the first of two buildings in Manchester to be dedicated to graphene research. The second block, the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, is planned for the former Faraday building site in the university's north campus, and is due to complete in 2017.
Click here to view a BIM video fly-through by Bam Construction
Click any image below to launch gallery
- Aerial view of construction
- CGI of the completed NGI
- Third floor circulation
- The outer veil stainless steel cladding being fixed into place
- Main cleanroom plenum space
- Main cleanroom from slab level
- Chemistry lab with acid and solvent extract systems
- External black perforated steel cladding
