Institute for Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems

Location
Bristol
Client
University of Bath
Value
£62m
Completion
2022
Size
13,500sqm
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  • Shortlisted

    Project of the Year (over £5m)

    Michelmores Property Awards 2023

World-class innovation hub for the automotive industry delivered through strong teamwork.

The University of Bath’s Institute for Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems (IAAPS) showcases the potential of good collaboration and early engagement to produce world-class R&D test facilities.

Their vision was for a versatile innovation hub where the university and industry could work together flexibly not just to develop new solutions but also to bridge the sector’s engineering skills gap.  The new facility fits into the region’s growing high-tech manufacturing cluster and is helping to build its economic success.

The new facility comprises a foyer with offices leading to a central atrium flanked on either side by testing cells and control rooms on the ground floor, with specialist plant above.

Since today’s innovation depends crucially on inter-disciplinary collaboration, our design consciously nudges users to interact, providing them with a café, numerous meeting areas, and good daylight in communal areas.  The exciting unfolding of space from foyer to atrium is a metaphor for innovation.

With sophisticated equipment requiring complex plant, good project team collaboration was essential. As lead designer, we fostered great teamwork, working effortlessly with the project team and engaging early with specialist suppliers to maintain momentum and quality throughout.

We carefully tailored the BIM execution plan to the University’s needs.  All assets have comprehensive data inputs and are modelled in 3D to an appropriate level of detail, and design clashes were detected early.

The resulting facility is an R&D magnet for the global automotive industry, placing the University and the region at the heart of a burgeoning technological success story.

Stride Treglown have partnered with DKA Architects in order to realise this ambitious project.

We are really pleased to have been able to appoint architects with the relevant experience who will help us realise our ambition and design a facility that will help ensure the UK not only maintains, but expands its global position within the automotive sector.

Professor Steve Egan, Vice-President (Implementation) at the University of Bath

Photography Ⓒ Tom Bright