Major robotics centre planned for North West

Morgan Sindall Construction has been named by the University of Salford as the preferred bidder to build the North of England Robotics Innovation Centre.

The scheme is part of the £2.5bn Crescent masterplan, a 240-acre major regeneration scheme being delivered by the University, Salford City Council and development partner, The English Cities Fund – a strategic joint venture between Muse Developments, Legal & General and Homes England – aimed at driving economic and social prosperity for the whole of the city over the life of the 20-year programme, through the delivery of spaces where people can live, work, relax and innovate.

The Centre will enable the University’s robotics and automation specialists to expand their work with SMEs around the country to provide solution development, design, testing and validation of digital innovation.

Disciplines covered by the development will include the dynamic and growing sectors of robotics for intelligent infrastructure, digital automation and supply chain improvement, as well as health, wellbeing and integrated care technologies.

The building is articulated with a Z-shaped plan expressing a series of stacked laboratories, in turn linked by a central feature stair representing the heart of the building.

Construction work on the 3,000m² building is set to begin in early 2021.