A £17 million three-storey building housing ‘state of the art’ laboratories and a 3-D lecture theatre is at the heart of plans to strengthen engineering at Lancaster University.
The new 2,700m
2 building will be a showcase for modern engineering and will have a brick façade inspired by Lancashire’s industry and viaducts.
It should be completed in the summer of next year.
The new facility will be furnished with a range of specialist equipment to support world-leading research, including a new distillation column for chemical engineering, laboratories for bio-engineering and hydrogen energy technology, and an integrated advanced-manufacturing environment.
The 3-D lecture theatre will allow for the development of new teaching concepts, with lecturers able to show students around complex virtual images in a 3-D environment.
The university (
www.lancaster.ac.uk) wants to create a distinct learning experience for students, with mechanical and electronic teaching laboratories that can accommodate up to 70 students and with facilities to fully support fabrication and experimental student work.
The building will also accommodate new laboratories for computing design and electronic teaching, emphasising the importance of digital learning in modern engineering.
It will also have flexible working spaces for guest researchers and development space to support start-ups and businesses.