Construction starts on Lancaster University’s new engineering building in UK

Eric Wright has started construction on a new £12.25m engineering building at Lancaster University in the UK.

Designed by architectural firm John McAslan + Partners, the facility is expected to be complete by December 2014.

The two-winged development with a central atrium will feature mechanical workshops and laboratories on the ground floor.

The first floor of the building will feature electronics and chemical engineering facilities while levels three and four will have academic office space, study areas and meeting zones.

The facility will also feature chemical engineering facilities, hydropower rigs and nuclear laboratories and research facilities for marine renewable energy, chemical engineering, manufacturing, micro/nano systems and terahertz.

The building, which is expected to secure BREEAM ‘outstanding’ rating, is in line with the university’s sustainability and carbon reduction targets.

Lancaster University head of the engineering department Malcolm Joyce said the university aims to establish an engineering education centre in the north-west and the new building will benefit all its work including the recent specialisms in nuclear, energy and chemical engineering.

"The new development will reaffirm our position in the UK. It will ensure we have the highest standard of facilities and it will raise our profile even further as a key provider of engineering education," Joyce said.

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Image: Lancaster University’s new engineering building is expected to be complete by December 2014. Photo: Courtesy of Eric Wright Group.