NEWS MEP

Citylabs 4.0 gets the go-ahead

The expansion of Manchester’s leading health innovation campus, Citylabs 4.0, was recently given the green light by planners. It is one of the first projects to be reviewed in the context of Manchester City Council’s declaration of Climate Change Emergency in relation to Sustainability and the city’s CO2 reduction targets.

The new 125,000 sq ft, £35m extension, for which Hilson Moran provided mechanical, electrical and public health design consultancy as well as BREEAM Assessment alongside Sheppard Robson, Arup and Deloitte, will grow the existing Citylabs campus and further cement its reputation as an international hub for genomics, digital health and precision medicine.

Citylabs 4.0 represents another step forward for Manchester’s Oxford Road Corridor innovation district, Europe’s largest clinical academic campus and one of the North of England’s most important commercial areas, generating around £3bn in GVA each year.

The scheme will be built at the south of the MFT Oxford Road campus, adjacent to Citylabs 2.0, and provide seven floors of office and lab space where brilliant research will be translated into new healthcare diagnostics and treatments which can then be quickly adopted into Manchester’s health system.

Simon Ramsden, director of Hilson Moran in Manchester, said: “Citylabs 4.0 will produce approximately 30% less carbon dioxide emissions compared to a typical new build office, which aligns with Hilson Moran’s commitment to achieving the net zero carbon targets by 2030. The sustainability measures include sustainable and responsibly sourced materials, enhanced façade design to mitigate overheating risk for future climate scenarios, highly efficient mechanical and electrical services, an optimised PV solution and a green infrastructure, whereby we have incorporated soft landscaping to external spaces to limit surface water run-off.

“In addition to these features we facilitated Sheppard Robson’s development of a ‘design for adaptability and disassembly strategy’ – this highlights the flexible design features which include the circular economy principles for ease of disassembly.”

The development of Citylabs 4.0 follows the recent planning approval announcement of the next phase of the Manchester Science Park masterplan which includes creating a 91,000 sq ft hub for materials science, energy technology and advanced manufacturing businesses as part of the redevelopment of Base.

Citylabs is a collaboration with Manchester Science Partnerships (MSP) and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) on behalf of Bruntwood SciTech. The Joint Venture partnership was the first of its kind and the first phase – Citylabs 1.0 – is already home to a thriving cluster of diagnostics, medtech, digital health and genomics businesses who are driving the future of medicine and healthcare.

The second phase is underway to create the £25m Citylabs 2.0 which is currently under construction and 100% pre-let. Due for completion in summer 2020 it will be home to global diagnostics company QIAGEN, who will base their European Hub for Diagnostics Development at the campus.

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