Enabling works are set to start at the University of the West of England during the summer

UWE Bristol Engineering building

The University of the West of England Bristol has appointed Bam to build a £22m engineering building.

The university’s teaching and research centre, designed by AHR, will include facilities such as engine test cells and wind tunnels.

Bam, which has previously delivered student union and enterprise zone buildings for UWE, is expected to start work on site this summer, with the building due to open in two years’ time.

Craig Allen, Bam’s construction director, said: “This building will attract future engineers, responding to emerging demand for degree apprenticeships in engineering.

“We are carrying out enabling works this summer and main works are planned to start November, completing in summer 2020.”

The new facility will also include spaces designed to accommodate a wide-range of engineering disciplines such as composite manufacturing, machining and metrology.

More than 1,600 undergraduate and postgraduate students along with 100 academic and technical staff will be based in the building.

Tod Burton, deputy dean of the faculty of environment and technology at UWE Bristol, said: “The building will support our move to collaborative, problem-based learning, enabling our students to develop the skills that the UK industry requires to remain at the forefront of advancements in engineering.”

The university said there was a distinct lack of engineers in the region and that it was aiming to help address this skills shortage by creating facilities that would ensure work-ready graduates.