Chemistry Building: Major Milestone Approaches

28 Jul 2022

The Chemistry Long Term Maintenance (LTM) Project is a £60m long-term transformation of the Chemistry building providing new fully refurbished laboratories within the Upper Brook Street wing along with the further refurbishment within the Dover Street wing to provide new administration and computational chemistry areas.

A tower crane above the chemistry building

The project will shortly arrive at a significant milestone with the installation of new fume extract ductwork on external faces of the building. The 800mm diameter ductwork totals 220m in overall length will serve each of the newly refurbished floors. It will be lifted into place using a 140 tonne crane by our Principal Contractor, Henry Brothers Ltd. who have clocked 24,944 total hours of work on site to date.

Installation of the ductwork requires closure of the building between 6 and 29 August as critical ventilation systems will need to be switched off. In order to prepare for this, 50-60,000 chemicals are being relocated in hundreds of crates to areas where ventilation will remain operational during the closure.

The current phase includes full refurbishment of the 4th and 5th floors of the building (Upper Brook Street wing) to provide new laboratory spaces, glazed screen write-up areas and new fume cupboards throughout. The refurbishment of both floors is progressing well with a significant amount of mechanical and electrical services already in place.

The 5th floor is due to finish in early-2023 and the 4th floor in Spring-2023. Once complete this will allow occupants to be relocated to the new labs and strip-out works to commence on the 2nd and 3rd floors as part of the phased programme.

Previous works undertaken and completed by the LTM project include the new solvent stores, nitrogen generation facility and loading bay/access road between the Chemistry Building and Zochonis.

The project team have worked closely with a team of representatives from the building to plan and implement the closure and we would like to thank all those affected by the work for their patience whilst the project progresses.