The Lord Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Erica Kemp joined students, staff and contractors today to mark the start of work on a new £8.5 million Science building at Liverpool Hope University.
The ground breaking ceremony was carried out by Heather Adams, Ben Tennant, Holly Naish and Gemma Hodson, who will be in the first cohort of students to use the new facilities in January 2016.
Building contractor GRAHAM Construction, architects Watson Batty, structural engineers Clancy Consulting and mechanical and electrical engineers Steven A Hunt & Associates will also attend the celebratory event.
The new building will feature specialist laboratory spaces dedicated to nutrition, genomics, cell biology and psychology, along with laboratories and space for sport and exercise science.
The building will house a 25m sprint track with force meters and motion capture for biomechanical analysis, a phlebotics lab for blood sampling, and treadmills and BODPODs for physiological analysis. There will also be a double height robotics suite and engineering lab to aid the building and testing of drones.
Psychology labs will include motor control capture and vision and colour labs as well as cognitive and neuro-behaviour suites. The building will also include space for research synergies with both Psychology and Sport.
Nutrition labs with food analysis and testing facilities, two large Bioscience and Environmental Science labs and a suite of dedicated research labs for the study of Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Cell Biology, Nutrition, Molecular Genetics, Tissue Culture and Bioinformatics will take up the first floor.
Existing Science buildings will be demolished to make way for the new building which has been designed to sit alongside the more traditional architecture on campus and to complement the Grade II listed Hilda Constance Allen building, one of the original founding college buildings of the University. The building will achieve a BREEAM ‘very good’ rating illustrating the University’s continual commitment to environmentally considerate and sustainable building design.
Professor Gerald Pillay, Vice-Chancellor & Rector of Liverpool Hope University said: “We have a long term commitment to STEM subjects, and this building is a major part of that. The department of Mathematics and Computer Science recently designed tools to teach mathematics, geometry and graphical content to visually impaired children, and is also about to start research that could impact on the speed and cost of Internet searches and downloads. Our Sports Science department is working with the other Universities in Liverpool to select and train an athlete to ride the ARION1 bike at the 2015 World Speed Trial in Nevada. We are producing cutting edge research and we hope that the new building will allow us to produce even more.
“Our vision is to create an inspiring and stimulating space for students and research staff, where they will be able to carry out all of their work under one roof, with a strong emphasis on collaboration. Much of the interior will be glazed, so that students will see activity and research taking place all the time.”
Professor Atulya Nagar, Dean of Science at Liverpool Hope University added: “We have a commitment to producing global citizens whose work makes a positive impact on the world around us. The new building will provide our students with the very best start to their science careers and give them the tools to pursue their own research. We also hope that it will attract even more world-leading research staff, allowing us to make an even greater impact on businesses, technology, public services and communities across the region, the UK and the world.”
Lord Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Erica Kemp, who attended one of the University’s founding colleges, said: “As a former student of Christ’s College I am delighted to see the many wonderful changes that have taken place over the years. I wish Liverpool Hope and the students every success for the future.”
Gary Hughes, regional director at GRAHAM Construction, said: “Liverpool Hope University is an innovative and forward-thinking institution and this new building will be a state-of-the-art centre for exciting scientific studies.
“The university recognised the quality, vision and ability of GRAHAM to deliver – to be playing a key part in this development is of great pride and we look forward to working in collaboration with the university and our project partners.
“This is a key win which further enhances our reputation and construction portfolio as we continue to grow across the North of England.”
GRAHAM Construction operates throughout the UK and Ireland and is a specialist in the Higher Education sector, with clients including University of Manchester, University of Salford, Sheffield Hallam University and University of Edinburgh.
Pictured L to R:
Gary Hughes (GRAHAM Construction), Lord Mayor of Liverpool Cllr Erica Kemp, students Gemma Hodson, Heather Adams, Ben Tennant and Holly Naish, Dr Ian Vanderwalle (Pro-Vice Chancellor: Operations, Liverpool Hope), Professor Gerald Pillay (Rector & Vice Chancellor of Liverpool Hope)
