The University of Sheffield has officially opened a new £21million development led by GRAHAM Construction.
The Pam Liversidge Building will provide state-of-the-art study facilities for the Faculty of Engineering, comprising of two lecture theatres, flexible study and teaching spaces, IT facilities and an eye-catching atrium.
GRAHAM Construction began work on the development in May 2012 under project director Keith Patrick and project manager Ivor Brown, with work completed earlier this year.
The seven-storey 5,300 sqm building is named in recognition of the achievements of Pam Liversidge, one of the UK’s leading female engineers and industrial entrepreneurs.
Gary Hughes, Regional Director at GRAHAM Construction, said: “At GRAHAM we strongly believe in collaboration and working in partnership with our clients and this has been key to the success of this project.
“The University of Sheffield is an historic and prestigious institution and we are very proud that they recognised our quality, and trusted in our vision and ability to deliver. This was a complex development which involved the expertise and commitment of a number of project partners, including Bond Bryan Architects, ARUP, Harvey Group, Techrete and Inasus.
“GRAHAM is a specialist in the education sector with a vast portfolio of high quality sustainable developments. With this project the University was keen to make the building as eco-friendly as possible – to this end we have linked the building into the local district heating system and also installed a fully automated natural ventilation system with intelligent controls package.”
Guests at the official opening included Sheffield University Engineering graduate Dr John Roberts – the designer of white knuckle roller coaster rides such as the Pepsi Max Big One and of the London Eye – and Gilbert Chung, son of Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist Sir S Y Chung, in whose honour the atrium has been named.
Professor Mike Hounslow, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Engineering, said: “This vital new building will help us to take our research activities to a new level at the same time as providing a first class teaching and research environment for our postgraduate students.”