Planning granted for £79M Cambridge research facility

The University of Cambridge has been granted planning permission for ‘Project Capella’ – a new £79m research facility being delivered by Kier and designed by architects from The Fairhursts Design Group.

The six-storey 18,000m² centre will be located adjacent to the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute within the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and will provide state-of-the-art research laboratories.

Due for completion by mid-2018, the development, for the UK’s top ranked University, will accommodate the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease, The Milner Therapeutics Institute and the Cambridge Centre for Haematopoiesis and Haematological Malignancies.

The facility, which aims to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, has a hybrid design incorporating steel beams. The building will accommodate a variety of laboratory spaces alongside office and meeting suites, all set within a collaborative working environment.

Externally, the building features a two-storey glazed box with gold metal detailing and double-height entrance foyer, while the spine is to be clad in a flat-faced graphite panel.

Kier Project Lead, Shak Chowdhury, said: “Project Capella is a great example of how lean construction techniques can be used in the development of a project to get it from the drawing board and into construction in the shortest timeframe. The University is one of our longest-standing clients, having first worked together in 1996. Collaboration has always been key to the long-term success of this relationship, and once again it’s this teamwork by all involved that has formed the successful foundations for Project Capella, our 23rd scheme together.

Mark Adey, Director at The Fairhursts Design Group, added: “The proposed building will provide a cutting edge facility appropriate for the complex research currently being carried out in isolated, outdated facilities across Cambridge.”