The new £12m science and technology centre at the University of Essex is rapidly taking shape and should be ready to open for students later this year.
The £11.8 million five-storey STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) building will feature teaching zones, an exhibition space, laboratories and a new café.
It also includes a versatile, 180-seat wet lab for biological sciences students along with a 200-seat IT exploratory learning space to help students from across the faculty of science and health work collaboratively.
Property and construction consultancy Ingleton Wood is working with Kier Construction on the project.
Most of the building work is now complete and it will soon be fitted out ready for teaching in the early part of this year
The centre has also been designed to meet the university’s environmental targets, helping to reduce the Colchester campus’s carbon footprint.
The roof will be fitted with photovoltaic solar panels to generate power for the whole building, while the basement will also house an energy efficient combined heat and power generator.
Paul Cavalier, Partner at Ingleton Wood, said: “It’s very satisfying to see that our design team’s efforts are paying off and the new building is making good progress.
“We have developed the design to provide a subtle contrast to the existing building. It promises to be a great addition to the excellent facilities that the university already provides.”
The University of Essex is investing £100m in its facilities in order to solidify its reputation as a world-class place to study. Undergraduate applications were up by 7.5% last year for home, EU and overseas students.
Chris Woodman, Project Manager from the University of Essex, said: “The new STEM centre is a very exciting development for our Colchester campus and promises to be a fantastic facility that will give all our students the very best chance of success.
“It will transform Square 1 into a dedicated science square with new collaborative learning spaces and interdisciplinary teaching facilities – as well as social space to continue our outreach work with local schools.
“We are looking forward to the centre’s official opening in a few months’ time.”
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