research institute
A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...
and building at the
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
that is focused on the research of
graphene
Graphene () is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice nanostructure.
. Construction of the building to house the institute started in 2013 and finished in 2015.
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
's
European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...
(£23m), the building is the national centre for graphene research in the UK. It provides facilities for industry and university academics to collaborate on graphene applications and the commercialisation of graphene. The building was opened on 20 March 2015 by
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...
.
Building
The five-story glass-fronted building provides of research space. This includes 1,500 square metres (16,000 sq ft) of class 100 and class 1000 clean rooms, one of which occupies the entire lower ground floor (in order to minimise vibrations) plus laser, optical, metrology and chemical laboratories, along with offices, a seminar room and accommodation. The top floor also includes a roof terrace, which has 21 different grasses and wildflowers designed to attract urban bees and other species of pollinators. The outside of the building consists of a composite cladding, with an external stainless steel 'veil'. The building faces on to Booth Street East. Construction started in March 2013, with the building being completed in 2015.
The building was designed by
Jestico + Whiles
Jestico + Whiles is an architectural firm and interior design practice based in London, UK. It has completed a number of high-profile cultural, diplomatic, hotel and retail projects in Europe.
The firm
Jestico + Whiles was founded by Tom Jestic ...
in close collaboration with a team of academics lead by Prof Sir
Konstantin Novoselov
Sir Konstantin Sergeevich Novoselov ( rus, Константи́н Серге́евич Новосёлов,
p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ nəvɐˈsʲɵləf; born 1974) is a Russian-British physicist, and a professor at the ...
. It cost around £30m, and was constructed by Bam Construct. The structural design was produced by Ramboll. Other shortlisted organisations are:
Lend Lease
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
,
Laing O’Rourke
Laing O'Rourke is a multinational construction company headquartered in Dartford, England. It was founded in 1978 by Ray O'Rourke. It is the largest privately owned construction company in the United Kingdom.
History
The company was founded by ...
,
Morgan Sindall
Morgan Sindall Group plc is a leading British Construction & Regeneration group, headquartered in London employing around 6,700 employees and operating in the public, regulated and private sectors. It reports through six divisions of Constructio ...
EC Harris
EC Harris is an international built asset consultancy firm headquartered in the United Kingdom. It is a key part of Arcadis NV, following the companies' merger in October 2011.
History
Founded in 1911 by Edward Charles Harris, EC Harris began a ...
, along with
CH2M Hill
CH2M, earlier CH2M Hill, was an engineering company that provided consulting, design, construction, and operations services for corporations and governments. The company was organized in Corvallis, Oregon, and headquartered at 9191 South Jamaic ...
who provided specialist technical architecture design services for the cleanrooms and laboratories, together with Mechanical, Electrical and Process (MEP) consultant services.
History of the location
The Institute was constructed on the former site of the Albert Club, which was a Victorian club that was located between Lawson Street and Clifford Street. The club was established for the middle class
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
community that were involved in Manchester's
cotton trade
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
, and
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels" '' The club was located on Clifford Street from 1842 prior to its relocation in 1859. The building was constructed by the architect
Jeptha Pacey
Jeptha Pacey (died 1862) was an architect, surveyor and building contractor working in Boston in Lincolnshire. Pacey was working as an ''architect'' at 10 Witham Place in Boston in 1826.
Works
*Boston Assembly Rooms 1819-1820. The design of the ...
as his personal house, and it was fronted by formal gardens. It was later converted into a private social club, which was named after
Albert, Prince Consort
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the consort of Queen Victoria from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his death in 1861.
Albert was born in the Saxon duch ...
. More recently it had been re-purposed as Turkish
public baths
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
, and was later used as a hospital for women and children. The building was demolished in the 1960s, and the site was used for the construction of the Lamb Building.
The excavations that took place in February 2013 by
Oxford Archaeology North
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, prior to the construction of the Institute, uncovered the remnants of the club building along with a row of five cellars belonging to 1830s
terraced housing
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
. A sink removed from the site has been incorporated into the institute's new building. As the main clean room of the new building is now located 3 metres below ground level, the remains of the Albert Club were not conserved.