Capita Symonds appointed on £60m university job

Consultant Capita Symonds has been appointed to work on Manchester Metropolitan University’s £60m project to build the UK’s most sustainable academic building.

The Birley Fields academic building, being built by Sir Robert McAlpine, is aiming to become the country’s most sustainable academic building and is designed to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.

It will feature a high performance solar veil façade, highly efficient mechanical and electrical systems and a combined heat and power facility for the new site.

The building is part of a £139m masterplan for the campus including 1,200 student residencies; a multi-storey car park; an energy centre building providing heat and power to the academic building and student residences; and a significant new hard and soft landscaped public realm area.

Capita are providing multidisciplinary design services for the project including architecture and structural engineering services.