Willmott Dixon has completed Greenheys, the £60 million laboratory and workspace development at Manchester Science Park that will become the new headquarters of UK Biobank and the most scientifically capable building in Bruntwood SciTech's national portfolio.
Handed over to Bruntwood SciTech on time and on budget, the 131,000 sq ft building sits on the Oxford Road Corridor knowledge quarter and provides flexible Containment Level 2 (CL2) laboratory and write-up space designed for research-intensive organisations working in life sciences, biotechnology and advanced diagnostics.
CL2 laboratories place demands on a building that conventional workspace never has to meet. Greenheys has been delivered with dedicated fume extraction units, high-specification local exhaust ventilation (LEV) capacity and advanced air handling engineered to support the most sophisticated analytical and research work.
This is supported by high-security access control, clinical waste and chemical storage, and goods-in areas with dedicated service lifts and loading bays designed for the logistical demands of moving samples, equipment and materials at scale. Bookable meeting facilities, break-out space, a campus café, gym, cycle storage and changing facilities complete the building.
Greenheys is fully electric and designed to achieve BREEAM Excellent. It is also home to Manchester city centre's largest living wall – 160,000 plants across 1,700 square metres – which helps reduce air pollution and provides habitat for pollinators and more than 125 species of invertebrates.
Anthony Dillon, managing director for Willmott Dixon in the North: “Greenheys is one of the most technically demanding buildings we have delivered in the North West. Containment Level 2 laboratories carry exacting standards for air handling, extraction, security and servicing, and every one of those systems had to be right before a single sample could be processed here. Handing the building over on time and on budget is a credit to the team and to Bruntwood SciTech as a client that knew precisely what the science required.
“We also set out to make sure the investment stayed in the region. Alongside our supply chain partners, 99% of the total project spend went to businesses within 40 miles of the site. Buildings like Greenheys, and schemes such as Stockport Interchange, show what construction can do for a local economy as well as for a client.”
Greenheys will provide UK Biobank, the world's most comprehensive source of biological, health and lifestyle information, with a new headquarters and research facility. The organisation is preparing to relocate 11 million biological samples from freezers in Stockport to Greenheys, alongside half of its 400-strong team. The move was supported by infrastructure funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Manchester Science Park has a gross value added of £3 billion a year, according to Manchester City Council, and sits at the heart of the largest clinical and academic campus in Europe. Knowledge-intensive industries are projected to contribute close to a quarter of the city's economy by 2028.
Sam Darby, development director at Bruntwood SciTech: “Manchester and the wider North West stands at the crossroads of a significant opportunity for economic development. The huge potential of the region's innovation sector hinges on the development of the networks and spaces that ambitious businesses need to grow. Greenheys is part of our response to that need.
“The building has been created for ambitious, research-led organisations that need high-quality lab space, access to exceptional talent and direct connections into a world-class research, clinical and academic ecosystem. Reaching this milestone brings us an important step closer to welcoming UK Biobank to its new headquarters.”
Professor Sir Rory Collins, chief executive and principal investigator of UK Biobank: “The completion of our Manchester home marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for UK Biobank. Our dedicated lab team will soon be able to process millions of samples from our generous participants four times faster than before, accelerating the pace of health research. Being located alongside the University and a thriving life sciences community will also create new opportunities for collaboration and partnership, while providing a modern, purpose-built working environment for colleagues. With thanks to UKRI's transformative funding, I'm eager to see what discoveries our new home will help unlock.”
Willmott Dixon and its supply chain partners spent 99% of the total project value with businesses within 40 miles of the site, keeping the economic benefit of a £60 million development in Greater Manchester and the surrounding region.
The project created 21 new employment opportunities, delivered 1,126 weeks of apprenticeship training and 101 weeks of work placements, and donated close to £30,000 to local community projects. Design and technical partners were drawn from across the north of England, including BDP's Manchester architects, Deloitte's Manchester-based planners and Cheshire-based I Want Plants, which delivered the living wall.
