Beecroft Building
The Beecroft Building is the Physics Department’s first new major research facility for over 50 years and accommodates around 200 theoretical and experimental physicists
© Jack Hobhouse
| Location | Science Area |
|---|---|
| Department(s) | Physics |
| About the building |
The five floors above ground provide the very highest quality offices, meeting rooms and collaboration spaces. These areas have been designed to foster collaborative working in a visually connected, acoustically controlled environment. Offices and collaboration spaces are organised within a five-storey atrium connected by a meandering staircase to enhance social interactions. Breakout spaces are arranged at half levels within the atrium, with informal seating arranged around double-height curved blackboards. These provide opportunities for group working and serendipitous meetings. Below ground the 16-metre-deep complex of high-specification laboratories have been designed to house extremely environmentally sensitive atomic-level experiments that will advance the University’s research into areas such as quantum science and technology, and probe the fundamental laws of nature. The new laboratories are among the very best globally. They can maintain temperature to within a tenth of a degree, and reduce the amount of vibration down to the width of a few atoms. The building has also been designed with sustainability in mind, utilising ground source heat, combined heat and power and demand-led ventilation. |
| Completion |
March 2018. It was officially opened by Sir Tim Berners-Lee in September 2018. |
| Awards |
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| Architect | Hawkins Brown |
| Main contractor | Laing O'Rourke |
