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University of Newcastle, Urban Sciences' Building interior

University of Newcastle, Urban Sciences' Building

University of Newcastle, Urban Sciences' Building interior

University of Newcastle, Urban Sciences' Buillding

University of Newcastle, Urban Sciences' Building interior

Science Central is the North East of England’s landmark location for science, business, living and leisure. Once supporting a colliery and then a brewery (the original home of Newcastle Brown Ale) the site spans 24 acres of prime city-centre development land in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne. The area is currently being transformed to support a thriving community, provide rewarding jobs and ground-breaking scientific advances that will be the foundation of a new generation of industries and endeavors centered on knowledge and innovation.

Delivered by the Newcastle Science City initiative, a long-term committed partnership between Newcastle City Council and Newcastle University, this unique location has sustainability at its heart and brings together the public sector, academia, industry and communities to shape a future to benefit us all.

The Urban Sciences Building (USB) is the second building constructed on the site and represents a commitment by Newcastle University to lead international research into digitally enabled urban sustainability. This state-of-the-art facility accommodates an Institute for Sustainability and Computing Science. The building and its surroundings combine cutting-edge architecture with new public spaces to house world-renowned scientific expertise and leading-edge companies. It isan innovation hub where investors, businesses, entrepreneurs, students, scientists and citizens collaborate to plan and develop solutions for tomorrow’s cities.

The design of the building as an experimental laboratory – a ‘Building as a Lab’ (BaaL) – enables high quality research, where solutions can be tested, demonstrated and made good for commercial use, creating a lasting legacy of science and innovation for the North East and contributing significantly to the University’s objectives in research, learning, teaching and engagement.

This seven-Storey building provides 3,500m2 of flexible teaching, research and forum space, predominately open plan office and teaching accommodation with light workshops / laboratories and collaborative spaces.

As a Level 2 BIM project delivered in line with industry standards and best practices, we were able to streamline information flows and collaboration, avoiding waste and mitigating clashes.
We reduced the number of changes and generally provided a better service through visualisation and improved design coordination. This approach also improved handover information, by creating data-rich models and an asset information database to support the operation and maintenance of the building.
The construction methodologies and the materials used on this project pushed boundaries in line with the University’s academic research aspirations. Considerable advances were made to understand and manage build tolerances in a series of models, which positively impacted on how we were able to assess buildability issues and communicate alternative design solutions.

To read more about our work on the Urban Sciences’ Building click here

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