The North West Cambridge Development is the largest single capital project that the University of Cambridge has undertaken in its 800-year history. EOS Facades were appointed to provide the SFS Facade System which was installed by SCL for phases one, two and three of this prestigious development.
To address the predicted growth of around 5,000 students and 3,000 staff over the next 25 years and provide affordable accommodation – the masterplan includes 3,000 homes, 2,000 post-graduate student spaces, 100,000 m2 of research space, a local centre and community facilities.
The University of Cambridge awarded its largest value construction package for the first phase of the development to BAM Construction. Worth approximately £80 million, the BAM contract includes build of significant areas of the new local centre and includes 352 homes for University and College key workers, as well as a supermarket and retail units, a doctor’s surgery and the shell of the energy centre to be built to BREEAM Excellent standard.
The University of Cambridge has given the final £75 million contract for the first phase to Wates Construction. The contract includes the construction of 264 apartments for University key workers, and local shop units that have been designed by RIBA Stirling Prize winners, Stanton Williams Architects.
EOS Facades were appointed to provide the company’s specialist offsite manufactured SFS Facade System which was installed by SCL for phases one, two and three of this prestigious development – a contract value of over £500,000, encompassing residential and commercial buildings. “We have worked with EOS on a number of projects,” said Neil Scott of SCL. “They consistently deliver a high level of service and their attention to detail, made them the obvious choice for a development as high profile as North West Cambridge.”
EOS specialise in the design, manufacture and supply of a wide range of bespoke Steel Framing Systems (SFS). As experts in offsite value-engineering, EOS have been actively involved in a range of privately and publicly funded research and technical development projects to bring new systems to market. The company’s extensive product range includes innovative facade panel systems which are fully engineered and assembled offsite in their state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. The versatile facade panel systems are then applied to the primary structural frame and can be integrated as either as an infill walling solution or as a continuous walling system, where light steel frames are fixed onto the outside face of the main structural frame.
To form the external envelope for the decorative facades finishes, fully engineered SFS infill walling solutions have been specifically designed by EOS for the re-enforced concrete frame of the North West Cambridge Development. To design and develop the SFS facade solutions for each of the individual buildings, EOS formed a strategic alliance with two of the architectural firms working on the project – Mecanoo Architects from Netherlands who partnered with BAM and Stanton Williams who partnered with Wates.
The vision for the North West Cambridge Development was to create a new district within the City, which encapsulates an eclectic mix of both commercial, academic facilities and urban residences – enhancing educational provision and quality of life for the University and ultimately, the City. Eddington, a residential area – is in the form of apartment blocks, three to five storeys high, in density more like an inner suburb of a large Victorian city, maximising the use of space. Designed for the wellbeing of residents – the welcoming, bright and airy apartment’s best features include unusually high ceilings in the ground-floor flats and the proportions of windows, together with the use of galleries with expansive views to provide access to the upper-level flats.
In a statement the Cambridge University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stephen Toope said: “At North West Cambridge we are determined to create a successful, sustainable, mixed-use community as an extension of the City, with buildings and public space of high quality design. We appreciate the many contributions that have been made to help us achieve this and we look forward to continuing to work with everyone to deliver our vision.”
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