The Leadbitter Group has completed the £29 million second phase of the Institute of Life Science and the £22 m Centre for NanoHealth at Swansea University.
‘Cutting-edge’ research facility
The seven-storey building now houses a new clinical research facility, a clinical imaging suite, the Centre for Health Informatics, Research and Evaluation, and the Centre for NanoHealth (CNH). It also provides business incubation units, tripling the space available to grow related businesses. The full-height glazed atrium cuts a path through the tower of the structure, linking the University with the adjacent Singleton Hospital. The tower includes high-quality incubator offices and meeting spaces, inpatient facilities, and a fifth floor terrace with extensive views. The ground floor Centre for NanoHealth incorporates laboratory facilities, a cleanroom, and nanoprobe and e-beam machines. The sensitive equipment necessitated anti-vibration concrete foundations and floors. As the complexity of the CNH facility meant work needed to proceed simultaneously with construction of the seven-storey tower, Leadbitter installed temporary support steels, weathered for water tightness, and erected a cantilever scaffold to full height on the tower, allowing progression in tandem.