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University of Nottingham RAD Building

Project Details

New Build

Practice

Lewis & Hickey Ltd

Lewis & Hickey Ltd , 2 St. Peters Gate , NOTTINGHAM , NG1 2JG

UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM RAD BUILDING JUBILEE CAMPUS, NOTTINGHAM As part of a framework partnership with the University of Nottingham, and through a robust design, interview and presentation process, Lewis & Hickey were successfully awarded the Research Acceleration and Demonstration Building (RAD) new build project. Enjoying a prime location on the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus, the building provides a number of multidisciplinary and specifically designed laboratory spaces, as well as high quality single and multiple occupancy offices, technical support bases and breakout spaces. The competition winning design was developed by a multidisciplinary team headed by Lewis & Hickey and from the outset was focused on embedded sustainable principles including potential re-use of an existing borehole on the site. The design solution adopted a split laboratory and office accommodation model with a central atrium space, providing main access and egress and key breakout hubs to each level, with a full height, feature ‘green wall’. The atrium also provides stack ventilation assistance to the active systems and acts as a collector for passive solar and occupant gains which are then captured through roof top plant at the atrium head. While sustainability is a very high priority for the scheme, it is deemed equally important to seize the aesthetic opportunity to provide a dynamic appearance with a unique identity consistent with aspirations of the ERA initiative and the design led context of the campus. The final design has been developed to maintain this initiative and expand on it such that the proposal will achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ status in accordance with the University of Nottingham’s minimum requirements. A full planning application for the RAD building was submitted at the start of October 2016, with a decision expected in the New Year, targeting construction completion at the end of 2017.