The University of Sheffield completed construction in July of 2020 on the Royce Discovery Centre in the United Kingdom. Designed by Bond Bryan Architects, the flexible facility provides leading-edge laboratories and workshops for materials science research. Featuring advanced technologies for 3D additive manufacturing, digital manufacturing, and nanocharacterization, the building leverages sophisticated strategies for vibration and noise mitigation to protect sensitive instrumentation. General contractor Henry Boot Construction broke ground on project in July of 2018.
The university is also building the £21 million Translational Energy Research Centre. The 20,130-sf facility will provide labs, offices, and testing suites for the discovery and development of low-carbon energy generation systems. Fostering collaboration between academic and industry partners, the project will enable both established and start-up companies to test, optimize, and demonstrate their technologies at a commercial scale. JF Finnegan is the general contractor for the center, which was also designed by Bond Bryan Architects. Construction began in April of 2020 and occupancy is expected in mid-2021.
In Lancashire, the University of Sheffield will begin construction in September of 2020 on the £20 Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre North West. Located in the Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone, the 48,438-sf facility will provide engineering labs for the creation of vehicle electrification technologies. The structure will accommodate advanced infrastructure for additive and hybrid manufacturing, automated assembly, and autonomous manufacturing processes and systems. Robertson has been awarded the £10.8 million construction contract for the project, which is slated for completion by fall of 2021.
