Supervision and technical assurance of design and construction of a state-of-the-art bioscience centre

BioCity Discovery Building

To attract bioscience companies to the region and encourage economic development, Nottingham City Council proposed a new, state-of-the-art laboratory and office space. We were appointed to support the delivery of the BioCity and ensure that it was delivered to the high standards needed to attract key industry clients.

There aren’t many facilities like this outside Oxford and Cambridge so it’s good to show the East Midlands can compete and produce things at least as good as the rest of the country. It has helped Sygnature with its recruitment and retention as talent in the sector are keen to work in such an iconic building.

Dr Simon Hirst

Sygnature CEO

The completed facility has become as one of the major bioscience centres within the UK, and now houses two tenants and allows them to expand their business operations whilst also offering accommodation to new bioscience start-ups.

The project was also shortlisted for the RICS East Midlands Commercial Project award.

The client’s wishes and expectations were high; the building had to be finished to a high standard with minimal defects. Coupled with the client’s wish was Wilmott Dixon’s zero defects policy, which prioritised identifying defects efficiently and accurately.

The mixed-use nature of the building, which ranges from laboratories and office space to café facilities and chemical and solvent storage rooms, means this project required careful attention to detail, strong leadership and the dedication of our NEC Supervisor team to deliver a defect free handover, meeting all agreed project programme and budgetary constraints.

Image Credit: Alex Bland — Image by Alex Bland

As part of the project team, we worked collaboratively and developed a strong working relationship. By attending monthly meetings and maintaining regular dialogue we supported risk mitigation and created an exceptional building.

We used the contractor’s defects management software, Field View, which allowed our supervisors to record defects efficiently and assign the appropriate subcontractor to resolve the issue. This sped up the process and allowed the contractor to view all defects in real time.

Furthermore, as NEC Supervisor we held monthly defect meetings and then weekly meetings during the final month of the construction phase. This ensured we met the client’s expectation of a high quality finish.

Ian Vernalls, Nottingham City Council, said

“The project underlines Nottingham’s ambition as a UK science city and has helped raise our profile and demonstrate what’s achievable here. The City Council invested where the private sector felt unable and has been duly rewarded.”