Balfour Beatty to construct National Automotive Innovation Centre in Warwick

NAIC is to be constructed by Balfour Beatty

Balfour Beatty has been awarded an £80m contract to construction the National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) for the University of Warwick.

The construction giant has been chosen to construct the 33,000 sq m development on the university’s main university campus in Coventry.

The four-storey ‘L’ shaped building will house state-of-the-art teaching, research and development, design and engineering facilities, centred around collaborative workspaces.

The scheme’s architect is Cullinan Studio, Rider Levett Bucknall is project manager, Arup is the engineer and Buro Four is providing project management support.

The NAIC will provide a national focus for expertise in automotive research and development.  It will accommodate over 1,000 technologists, academics, designers, students and engineers, fostering collaboration to develop and utilise new breakthrough vehicle technology. The facility will also help to address the current shortage of skilled research and development staff in the automotive supply chain.

Nicholas Pollard, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive Officer for Construction UK, said: “This award adds to Balfour Beatty’s significant portfolio of university projects across the UK. We look forward to delivering a facility that will support the University of Warwick’s ambition to position the UK at the forefront of automotive research and development.”

The NAIC is expected to be complete in spring of 2017.