Contractor awarded £16m contract by University of Nottingham

Centre for Sustainable Chemistry

A project team including contractor Morgan Sindall and project manager Gleeds has been appointed to build the UK’s first carbon neutral laboratory for the University of Nottingham.

Morgan Sindall said its construction contract is worth £15.8m.

The team – which also includes architect Fairhursts, quantity surveyor Northcroft, engineer Aecom and CDM consultant WSP Safety – will start construction of the 4,500 sq m facility this autumn.

The GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratory of Sustainable Chemistry will provide chemistry laboratory facilities for 100 researchers and is being part-funded by GlaxoSmithKline.

The building also incorporates instrument rooms, a teaching lab and space for hosting outreach activities.

The building will aim to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating and Morgan Sindall says it will become carbon neutral after 25 years of operation.

Excess energy created by the building will provide enough carbon credits over 25 years to pay back the carbon used in its construction.

The energy required to run the laboratory will be met by renewable sources including solar power and sustainable biomass.

The University of Nottingham’s chief estates and facilities officer, Chris Jagger, said: “This building will be at the forefront of the next generation of highly sustainable wet chemistry research laboratory building design.

“We have commissioned the very best expertise in the project management and design team consultants and we are delighted at the appointment of Morgan Sindall as contractors to enable us to proceed with the construction and delivery of this project.”

Morgan Sindall area director, Richard Fielding, said: “This is an extremely exciting project to be working on; it’s a UK first and is set to push the boundaries of sustainable construction.”