Balfour Beatty’s Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD) features in a Construction News Project Report. The in-depth article highlights the significant benefits the project will bring to future engineers studying at The University of Manchester.
MECD is one of the largest capital developments ever undertaken by a higher education institution which, when completed, will represent the single-biggest home for engineering in any UK university, hosting up to 7,000 students and 1,300 staff.
Discussing the works, Mark Pearson from Balfour Beatty and Neil Stubbs from The University of Manchester, explore how challenges, including ensuring the new facility can incorporate sensitive equipment such as electron microscopes and enabling utilities access to underground sewer systems, have been successfully overcome.
The report also highlights the collaborative relationship between Balfour Beatty and the University of Manchester as construction works develop, ultimately resulting in a more efficient, productive and safe site.
Mark Pearson, Balfour Beatty Project Director, said: “MECD is a particularly interesting project providing a wide variety of technical challenges including the construction of four inter-linked buildings and the refurbishment of the historic Grade II-listed Oddfellows Hall.
“The buildings are designed around the University’s equipment hosted in the facility and, working closely with the University, we look forward to safely delivering what will be a ground-breaking and innovative new Engineering Campus.”
Balfour Beatty is a leading international infrastructure group. With 26,000 employees, we provide innovative and efficient infrastructure that underpins our daily lives, supports communities and enables economic growth. We finance, develop, build and maintain complex infrastructure such as transportation, power and utility systems, social and commercial buildings.
Our main geographies are the UK, US and Hong Kong. Over the last 100 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world including the London Olympics’ Aquatic Centre, Hong Kong’s first Zero Carbon building, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in the US and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Balfour Beatty has a long and proud history working in the North and Midlands, delivering innovative infrastructure and build projects and supporting growth across the region. The company has proven expertise across multiple sectors including highways, education, flood & coastal defence, and of working with local authorities through the Scape National Civil Engineering and Infrastructure framework along with other regional and national frameworks.
Our portfolio of current projects includes the delivery of two contracts for HS2 worth a combined total of c.£2.5billion, The University of Manchester’s £287m Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD), representing one of the largest capital developments ever undertaken by a UK higher education institution and the £10 million early works contract for the Midlands Metropolitan Hospital on behalf of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.
Completed projects include the £50m ‘Diamond’ building at the University of Sheffield, the £14m mechanical and electrical services for the new National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester and a £22.5m new teaching and lecture space at Sheffield Hallam University. Balfour Beatty has also recently completed the £27m Anchorsholme and £63 million Rossall coastal defence scheme on behalf of Blackpool Council and Wyre Council, and the Gateshead District Energy Centre, one of the North East region’s first energy centres, which will generate and supply heat and power for homes, businesses and public buildings across Gateshead Town Centre.