National Graphene Institute wins major regional architectural award

21 Apr 2016

The £61m building, completed in 2015, is among the winners of the RIBA North West Awards 2016

The National Graphene Institute (NGI) has been acclaimed as one of the region's 10 best new buildings in the RIBA North West Awards 2016. Other winners included Abbey Hey Children’s Hospital, HOME, Library Walk Link Building, Littlewoods Bunker, Manchester Central Library, Mellor Primary School, Wirral Metropolitan College and two private houses.

The uniquely designed institute houses researchers and scientists who collaborate with colleagues from other universities and from some of the world's leading companies, to accelerate the commercialisation of graphene applications.

In making the award, the judges said: "It was clear that the role of the client was instrumental to the success of the brief and delivery of the project. There was a well-resolved logic to the planning of the spaces, especially given the contrasting demands of the different uses. The client and team have developed a compact and well-detailed scheme that still manages to give something back to the street (for example the public view down into the main clean rooms) and to the campus (the stainless steel cladding works as both metaphor and functional screen).

"A fascinating building containing a complex and groundbreaking area of research, it was delivered at an impressive pace despite the complexity and pressures and provides a flexible platform upon which future research and industry collaboration can flourish. This is a building that expertly balances the enormous servicing and technical demands of laboratory space with the experimental requirement of a place that will attract some of the brightest minds in science and industry."

The NGI was delivered by the University's Directorate of Estates and Facilities, designed by architects Jestico + Whiles and built by BAM Construction.

The building has previously won the BIM (Building Information Modelling) Application Award and a British Construction Industry Award for Major Building Project of the Year (over £50m).