The new building in Preston will house flight simulators, Formula One cars and specialist electronic labs to help students of aerospace and mechanical engineering, and energy technologies.
Piling activities to form part of the foundations for the six-storey building have started, with a rig now on site drilling 25-metre deep holes for 600mm-diameter reinforced concrete piles.
Once the foundations are complete, work will begin on the retaining wall and concrete cores of the building before starting the steel frame.
BAM is expected to handover the building in 2019 after some slippage in the programme. When BAM was handed the contract last year completion date was described as summer 2018.
SimpsonHaugh has led on the design of the facility in collaboration with Reiach & Hall Architects. BDP is providing engineering input and AA Projects is project manager, employer’s agent and quantity surveyor.
Identified as a signature project within Lancashire’s Strategic Economic Plan, the EIC has been granted £10.5m via the Lancashire Enterprise Partnerships’ growth deal with the government. It has also received £5.8m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and £5m from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
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