The new Civil Engineering Building, housing the National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing (NRFIS), is an important first step in the Engineering Department’s 'Move West' strategy .

The initial purpose of the project was to create a world-class building in West Cambridge, to house the UKCRIC National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing and the Department’s Geotechnical and Structures research activities. The RIBA Stage 1 study demonstrated the value of expanding the scheme to accommodate most of the Civil Engineering Division.

The relocation of Civil Engineering activity to West Cambridge is an important first step in the Engineering Department’s 'Move West' strategy, and the building has been included in the 'Inset' Masterplan developed by Grimshaw Architects, and incorporated into the University’s Masterplan for the West Cambridge site.

Construction

Construction of the new Civil Engineering Building started in September 2017 and was completed at the beginning of May 2019. Designed by Grimshaw Architects, the new Civil Engineering Building incorporates a number of pioneering and innovative aspects including an energy/cost metric to minimise energy usage, design for deconstruction, the installation of building sensors and elements of innovative concrete.

Wider sustainability issues such as waste, water use and pollution mitigation are reflected in a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and the building has been designed to meet best practice guidance on occupant comfort and amenity.

The building is three storeys in height and occupies a plan area of 32.4 x 57.6 m with the following purpose built features:

• Double- and single height laboratories for rapid prototyping and open-source microcontroller platforms to produce and develop novel sensors systems at a range of scales

• Vibration isolated and severe environment laboratories

• A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) laboratory

• An advanced structural lab with scaled and full-scale physical testing capabilities

• Advanced facilities for data analysis and smart construction computation

To read more about the building's design and fit out features, click here.

Civil Engineering Building construction (March 2017 - November 2018): external and internal time lapse video

Strong floor construction: internal time lapse video