GSK carbon neutral laboratories for sustainable chemistry

Located at the heart of the University of Nottingham’s Innovation Park, this 4,500m² carbon neutral building contains teaching and research laboratories, writing-up areas, outreach space, offices, seminar rooms and a communal winter garden. It has been designed to anticipate future environmental demands and offset carbon emissions from construction within 25 years, undergoing end-of-life scenario assessments covering landfill and recycling considerations.

Our team addressed the importance of acoustics in creating environments conducive to learning, focusing on enhancing user experience. This was achieved by conducting comprehensive noise measurements at nearby sensitive receptors, evaluating potential impact of plant noise and devising mitigation strategies in compliance with local authority and BREEAM standards. The internal acoustics of the laboratory spaces were optimised by predicting reverberation times with the proposed internal finishes using advanced modelling techniques.

Andrew Somerville, Science and Technology sector lead, comments “Future gazing was key for this project, planning for how the build would be taxed by environmental changes as time passed and ensuring it would remain carbon neutral over its lifetime. Our plan for excess energy to heat a nearby office development will pay back the carbon used in construction over 25 years.”