Henry Royce Institute

Manchester, UK

Driven by a vision to engage scientists, industry and the public, the inherently flexible design and layout of the Henry Royce Institute allows users to adapt to new research and technological opportunities during the building's lifetime. The project also balances openness and confidentiality, with visual transparency to "open" functions such as local collaboration hubs and imaginative displays of research material and products, and opacity to controlled laboratory environments.

Located on campus at The University of Manchester, the Institute features seven floors with dedicated specialist spaces as well as open-ended write up areas, providing a flex zone which can be converted to additional laboratories, reacting to the changing needs of the materials research community. The building is also designed to balance solar gain against its functionality, resulting in a dynamic and engaging building presence. Vertical connections and shared spaces create opportunities for researchers and industry partners to mix across teams and generate new relationships and encounters with the aim of cross-fertilizing research.

Features

The 10-meter-high ground floor entrance is overlooked by a café at mezzanine level and offers views into the material testing spaces. Terraced floors provide visitors with glimpses into workspaces as they climb the staircase through a stepped, three-story atrium.

The facade carefully balances solar gain against the building's functionality. Greater visual transparency is given to more "open" functions such as local collaboration hubs, and lesser transparency to controlled laboratory environments, creating a dynamic and modulated building appearance. Researchers and industry partners are linked through a careful arrangement of vertical connections and shared spaces, which offer additional views into public areas and laboratories for visitors and passers-by.

Due to the project's location in a busy city center, as well as a strict schedule, the design team and engineering partner Laing O'Rourke used design computation and modern construction methods such as offsite, precast concreate to speed up construction and minimize waste and site deliveries. In addition, the precast concrete delivers mass and strength to the building’s structure, necessary to accommodate the heavy scientific equipment and deliver the ultra-low vibration requirements.

Project Details

Client Name
University of Manchester / Henry Royce Institute

Square Meters
16,000 SM

Program
Laboratories, offices, amenities

Services
Architecture, interior design, laboratory planning

Phase
Completed