ISG is preferred contractor on a circa £70 million project to create the new Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Research Hub at Imperial College London’s 25-acre research and innovation campus in White City, west London. ISG has now secured over £130 million projects for Imperial in the past two months, following the recent award of a £61 million scheme to deliver a state-of-the-art home for the Department of Chemistry.
Visualisation of the new Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Research Hub at Imperial College London
Flythrough video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQiz7caWnpY
The Biomedical Engineering Research Hub has been made possible thanks to an unprecedented £40 million gift from Imperial alumnus Michael Uren OBE and his foundation. The centre will facilitate life-changing research into new and affordable medical technology, helping people affected by a diverse range of medical conditions.
The Hub is designed as a collaborative facility, with Imperial’s world-class engineers, scientists and clinicians working together in the new space alongside spin-out companies and other leading-edge organisations. Due to commence on site in early 2017 and scheduled for completion in 2019, the facility will also incorporate clinical areas, giving patients direct access to the latest innovations in healthcare.
The 12-storey arrow-shaped building features a hybrid concrete and steel frame structure. A full height steel frame nose cone, forming the apex of the arrow, will house the building’s complex mechanical and electrical services infrastructure, with the remainder of the Hub constructed as a concrete frame structure. The building’s glazed façade features prefabricated and geometrically distinct concrete fins to two elevations, which act as solar shading and provide a striking design element.
Internally, the Hub has been designed with clean architectural finishes, celebrating the construction materials used to create the structure. High-end concrete finishes feature throughout the building, with exposed soffits, walls and columns delivered to exacting standards. In line with Imperial’s commitment to sustainability, the new Hub will achieve a BREEAM Very Good environmental performance rating and the scheme is being delivered in BIM to Level 2 maturity.
To create the flexibility demanded by Imperial to support current and future uses of the space, the Hub incorporates modular laboratory bench systems, which plug into ceiling mounted services infrastructure to support multiple configurations. In addition to an extensive suite of research laboratories, the building will also house an MRI scanner at basement level, an outpatient clinic, a 150-seat auditorium at level 12 and a range of social spaces to encourage interaction and the informal exchange of ideas.
The scheme builds on ISG’s extensive experience delivering world-class laboratories and research and development facilities and is the latest in a legacy of over 30 projects the company has successfully delivered for Imperial College London, from flagship new build and complex refurbishment schemes, to smaller scale fit outs and individual laboratory projects.
Danny Blakeston, managing director of ISG’s Engineering Services business, commented: “Securing our third major project for Imperial at the White City Campus is a major achievement for the business and really cements our reputation as a specialist in the delivery of highly-engineered spaces. The opportunity to work on two outstanding research buildings on the same campus simultaneously underlines the breadth and depth of our capability and acknowledges the strength of our relationship with one of the world’s leading science-based institutions.”