Page 9 - Project Birchwood, Melbourn

Harwell Campus Masterplan Harwell- Innovation Cente Kimbolton School- Queen Katharine Building

The masterplan envisages a minimum of 1 million square feet of new mixed use facilities In 2010 we won The RIBA East Spirit of Ingenuity Award for our project with Kimbolton
together with private residential accommodation to be delivered over a 15/20 year period. School for a new teaching and learning building. The challenge here had been to produce
The Campus development will support the Government’s Science and Innovation Investment an efficient, sustainable and forward looking building within the highly sensitive parkland
Framework by: context of the Grade I listed Kimbolton Castle. We had won the commission through a
limited competition process in which our proposal was for a contemporary scheme that was
• Stimulating world class research and development
based on classical proportional mathematics ( the golden section). We led the dialogue with
• Improving knowledge transfer and business engagement with research English Heritage and the local authority conservation team and also participated in the public
consultation process- helping to build consensus and support for this critical development
• Increasing the impact of science, technology and innovation on the wider economy
for the school. We concentrated on creating a simple plan form with a carefully considered
The campus is already home to some of the world’s most prestigious research facilities palette of materials and the scheme has been a great success. We also established a longer
and an outstanding skill base, providing opportunities that are attractive to a broad range term plan of extended redevelopment that has been subsequently implemented by others.
of scientific sectors. The campus will fulfil its unique potential through development of
a world class science park with a strong and dynamic community of leading scientists,
innovators and entrepreneurs. The campus will be a truly community in the wider sense as
the masterplan incorporates residential, school facilities, commercial, retail, sports, hotel
and conference facilities. Unfortunately, public procurement rules precluded our continued
involvement when we established MCW in 2011.