Henry Royce Institute gets the green light

10 Feb 2017

The University’s £150m Henry Royce Institute building has been approved by city planners

At a meeting of Manchester City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, plans to build the nine-storey building at the heart of the University’s Engineering Campus were given the go-ahead.

Set to open in 2019, the Royce@Manchester building will host more than 400 leading advanced materials researchers and industrial collaborators, and will become the UK’s home of materials research and commercilaisation.

The Royce@Manchester building will be the focal point of the £235m national Institute, which will allow the UK to grow its world-leading research and innovation base in advanced-materials science, fundamental to all industrial sectors and the economy.

It is a critical component of the Government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative and an attempt to boost economic growth in the North of England and balance the UK economy.

The Institute operates a hub-and-spoke model, with the hub based at the University, and spokes at the founding partners; the universities of Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College London, as well as Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) and the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL).

Designed by architects NBBJ, the Royce@Manchester building will house researchers from four of the nine research themes the Institute will initially focus on – 2D Materials, Materials for Demanding Environments, Biomedical Systems and Devices and Nuclear Materials.

Advanced materials scientists from all over the UK will be able to access state-of-the-art equipment at the facility, as well as engineers and researchers from industrial partners.

The building design is intended to allow ‘Science on Show’ – areas of the building visible to engage people outside – while also providing closed, confidential spaces for commercially sensitive research.

The University has embarked on an ambitious ten-year, £1bn masterplan to transform its campus and deliver world-class facilities for staff, students and visitors. This includes the National Graphene Institute (NGI), which opened last year, and the £60m Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC), which is currently under construction.

Diana Hampson, Director of Estates and Facilities, said: “The Henry Royce Institute building at the University will be a fantastic addition to our campus, and one of our major capital projects. We are delighted that the building has been approved by planners and look forward to work beginning on this exciting project.”

The Project and Cost Managers are Arcadis, and Ramboll are the Civil & Structural Engineers. Both companies also completed the NGI and are working on the GEIC, while Arup, the Building Services Engineers, are also currently working on MECD. The preferred contractors, Laing O’Rourke, are also working on GEIC.