Plans for a second building at the Science Central development park are being pressed ahead by Newcastle University and the City Council. The proposed Urban Sciences Building will help to transform Newcastle into a national centre for science.
Prequalification is now underway to find six firms to design and build the new building which will provide between 140,000 sq ft of teaching space.
Phase 1 of the project has already started with enabling, infrastructure and public realm works underway. The construction of the new building comes after the first building on site – The Core – was completed.
The main structure is anticipated to be a concrete frame with flat slabs over a piled foundation.
The Urban Sciences Building and The Core are part of the Science Central development which aims to create a living lab for new systems and technologies to be trialled. The centre will combine digital ingenuity and sustainability research with social innovation to lead advances in the development of ‘smart cities’.
A main contractor will be appointed by November 2015. The build is scheduled for completion by the end of August 2017.
