The development is a joint venture between the Universities of Leeds, Bradford and Institute for Health Research.  The Centre is a new build development on the Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust site co-located / near the Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR).

Bringing together research from all three institutions, it will host a centre for child health, including the ground-breaking “Born in Bradford’s Better Start” cohorts.  The £3.1 million development will also host the Centre for Ageing, one of the UK’s most successful research groups in applied health research for older people, and the National Institute for Health Research’s National Patient Safety Centre.

We were appointed to the Design and Build contract by Sewell Construction. The centre is 900m² spread over two floors using a timber-clad steel frame with traditional foundations on a tight site with drainage and stormwater attenuation being squeezed in around the perimeter. The research and teaching facility contains research laboratories (Containment level 3), teaching rooms and lecture theatres.

Design challenges included an accelerated programme, existing retaining walls and a constrained site in close proximity to other buildings on the Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust site.

The materials used externally were chosen to work both within the existing context and in line with the natural aesthetic suggested by the Wolfson Group.