VIDEO | Steel frame complete at UCLan engineering centre
The last beam in 630 tonnes of steel has been put in place at the University of Central Lancashire’s Engineering Innovation Centre.
Timelapse footage filmed over seven weeks has captured the progress at the site of the £30m-plus facility, part of the university’s £200m masterplan.
Main contractor BAM Construction is now installing pre-cast floor planks. The company has stockpiled 200 wagonloads of excavated material offsite and is returning it for use when required, as well as recycling 90% of the waste produced during the project through Preston-based charity, Recycling Lives.
Michael Ahern, chief operating officer at UCLan, said: “It’s exciting to see the building taking shape before our very eyes, and the timelapse footage only highlights the scale and magnitude of this project.
“The EIC will be a real asset to the university and the region, bringing enormous educational and economic benefits now and for generations to come.”
The EIC is expected to produce an increase of 500 locally trained graduates per year in areas including aerospace, mechanical and energy technologies and engineering.
Identified as a signature project within Lancashire’s Strategic Economic Plan, the EIC has secured £10.5m from the Lancashire Enterprise Partnerships’ Growth Deal, along with £5.8m from the European Regional Development Fund and £5m from HEFCE’s STEM Capital Fund.
The news follows the granting of consent last week for UCLan’s proposed student centre, which will provide the university with a new gateway from the city centre at the Adelphi roundabout.
