The University of Exeter has appointed Morgan Sindall Construction to build the new Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW) on its Streatham Campus. The collaborative research centre will be the contractor’s 19th development on campus, brought to life through a strategic partnership with South West Water.
The £8.5m CREWW building is part funded by a UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) grant from Research England and investment from the University of Exeter and South West Water. It will provide a shared research facility between the water company and the university to discover solutions to protect the future of water systems in the South West, the UK and on a global scale.
Once complete, the three-storey building will offer a high-standard single-space for collaborative research and training between academics and experts from the water industry.
Morgan Sindall Construction is continuing to strengthen its relationship with the university, which ranks 13th in the Complete University Guide’s 2022 league table and has delivered more than £20m of work in the past five years alone.
The new centre is located on the Streatham campus opposite the Harrison building, where the main contactor recently completed a new extension to provide better educational provisions for computer science in the South West.
The 14,000 sq ft centre will be built into the bank of the campus, comprising a basement and two floors. The contractor will install mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems into the high-spec labs, as well as state-of-the-art mechanical infrastructure and research lab equipment. The rest of the fit out will be completed by the university.
The BREEAM excellent rated building will be net zero in operation aided by air source heat pumps and rooftop solar panels.
During construction, the contractor will also work towards reducing its carbon emissions by reusing excavated materials on the backfill of the building and reusing water onsite where possible.
Brian Rice, area director at Morgan Sindall Construction, said:
“Our appointment is testament to the fantastic relationship we have built with the university and will enable us to continue to create job opportunities for local people as well as maintaining the university’s status as one of the top institutions in the country. “We’re incredibly proud to deliver this new purpose-built facility that will aid transdisciplinary research to discover solutions to environmental challenges facing local and global communities.
“Having worked extensively on campus, our team and network of supply chain are well-versed in the university’s practises and expectations and we know their focus lies in the student experience. We will continue to ensure disruption to students is kept to an absolute minimum by ramping up works during quieter holiday periods and engage where possible through site walks and offering work experience.
“The university ranks highly and we want to continue to do our bit to support that by providing state-of-the-art facilities that exceed student expectations and provide an excellent place of teaching for staff.”
As part of its commitment to local economies, Morgan Sindall Construction will use a local supply chain and employ local people. An apprentice is also joining the site to gain experience whilst working towards their degree.
Work has now begun and is set to complete in May next year.