Loughborough University Science Park (LUSEP)

Services provided by Perfect Circle

Perfect Circle provided consultancy in the early stages of design. Works included:

• Project management;
• quantity surveying;
• principle design services;
• landscape architecture;
• NEC supervisor;
• mechanical, electrical, civils and structures support.

The works were procured via SCAPE Consultancy, a direct award framework that drives collaboration, efficiency, time and cost savings on construction projects.

Supply chain engagement

The framework not only offered the direct award facility, but a vast range of expertise available via the supply chain, as well as SCAPE partner collaborations, including:

• Wates, as principal contractor, completed all building, mechanical and electrical works via SCAPE’s Major Works framework
• Building architecture was supplied by Stephen George and Partners as subconsultants on the project.
• Wates, as principal contractor, completed all building, mechanical and electrical works via SCAPE’s Major Works framework
  
• Avison Young provided town planning advice
• ADAS ecologists ensured that the project conserved local wildlife
• Extensive planning and ground design works were also carried out in collaboration with the client and its team to ensure a cost-effective solution on the previously sloped site.

Requirements

The building has been developed on 5.5 acres of land owned by Loughborough University. Requirements from LCC were to provide 80,000 sq. ft (100,000 sq. ft gross) of Category A office space spread over three floors. This was to support the council’s ambitions to develop its estate and provide long-term financial benefits for the region. The project was expected to operate in accordance with a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’.

Challenges

The site is adjacent to a licenced bat house (Bathaus), which is a piece of public art commissioned by Loughborough University and home to a maternity colony of brown long-eared bats. The house sits in an abandoned cottage, which is on the grounds of the campus and has laid derelict since 1882.

Preservation of the cottage - while undertaking construction to the wider site - meant the team had to engage with various stakeholders including Natural England, university ecologists, local authorities and conservation officers to amend the licence and secure approval to implement new systems. To preserve the local ecology and to limit disruption to the bats, social connectivity and landscaping features were installed.

The weather was also problematic to the progression of the site. Extremely wet and windy conditions in the autumn of 2019 meant that external weather proofing couldn’t be completed before winter.

Furthermore, the arrival of Covid-19 in March 2020 adversely affected the project’s progress. This led to delays with curtain wall glazing and partitions, as well as suspended operational activity in relation to the lifting of equipment and materials. The entire programme for the project had to be re-sequenced to accommodate these ongoing challenges and to ensure the project could push forward and maintain momentum.

Outcomes

LUSEP is the largest single-occupier office new-build deal in the East Midlands this century. It is now home to one of the UK’s fastest growing tech employers, Access Group, which secured the site on a pre-let basis before work had started and will support a significant portion of its workforce for the new UK headquarters.

Perfect Circle provided a one-stop-shop for the county council, assisting with all of the pre-construction services it required through a rapid and compliant direct award approach, despite programme pressures. The client had one point of contact and access to an extensive local supply chain with the depth and breadth of expertise the project demanded. The project also achieved a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’

Social value generated

All designs and construction were executed with due consideration of the existing ecology and environmental needs of the site, including the installation of a bat fence, social connectivity and landscaping features.