IMPACT wins SPACES Awards 2021 – Education Category

November 16, 2021 Professor Johann Sienz
Image courtesy of AHR

IMPACT has won the Education Category in the SPACES Awards 2021 run by The Spaces Network.

The IMPACT building was recognised for its “strong architectural and low energy design”.

The initial concept was to construct a dynamic space for industry and academia to work closely together through the use of two distinct areas: the large 1,600m2 open plan workshop provides a vast collaborative space and the four-storey research office building allows researchers in the 80 single occupancy offices to be housed together and in close proximity to the adjoining labs and workshop.

This unique layout has led to successful partnerships and collaborations that can be seen through the £15m of research income that has been generated to date – with key award successes including research areas in advanced steel production; advanced and sustainable energy storage systems; and a new digital manufacturing centre.

IMPACT Building

Additional building design features such as the hub space, meeting rooms and research hubs mean research groups can work closer together. Some of the building’s distinct and unique features also play a vital role in how visitors experience the building:

 

· The central atrium that joins the two buildings provides a vast natural light filled space that has been used to showcase research through events and exhibitions.

· The floating boardroom enables visitors to meet within the building’s core and witness how the dynamic workshop is providing space for highly specialised equipment and subsequent world-leading research.

· The 114m2 living wall provides a home for wildlife with over 5,000 plants and has improved the building’s energy efficiency. To reinforce the status as the first accredited Bee Friendly University in Wales, and to help strengthen the wildlife corridor from Crymlyn Burrows into Swansea, native and pollinator-friendly plants have also been included.

 

Designed to BREEAM excellent standards, the 6,500 m2 building was planned out to ensure that sustainable, energy efficient building techniques and renewable energy technologies were incorporated wherever possible:

 

· Using materials derived from recycled and reused sources

· Utilising photo‐voltaic (PV) solar roof panels as an energy source

· Developing a soft landscape in adjoining land with pond and wildflower planting

· Providing nest boxes for swifts, sparrows and bats

 

Deputy Executive Dean FSE and IMPACT Operation Director, Professor Johann Sienz comments:

“IMPACT was created to drive regionally anchored advancement and to support the global engineering economy, scientific developments and societal progress through collaborative, fundamental and applied research, development and innovation. This unique co-location facility means we have been able to provide a transformative, inspiring research environment for academia-industry partnerships to thrive.

From our initial concept through to the completion of the building, the end result has surpassed our expectations – allowing us opportunities that would not have been possible without these world-class facilities that are now housed on campus. The distinctive design of the building has meant we can explore emerging research priorities and have been able to adapt to industry needs informed by the latest scientific and technological development.

The final outcome has exceeded our initial vision and our journey to become a world-class operation is becoming a reality due to these highly specialised laboratories.”

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