25,000m² of quality academic and performance space

Maximising efficiency through MMC solutions

Offering early Tier 3 buildability advice, our in-house companies, Expanded delivered the piling and the precast concrete structure, Crown House Technologies delivered the mechanical and electrical works, and with a team of seven, Vetter delivered the complex façade (stone/brick clad nested 327 precast concrete panels with high thermal and airtightness requirements; demanding robust solutions) in just ten weeks. The panels, along with 3000 structural components and 200 services components were manufactured offsite at our facility, the Centre of Excellence for Modern Construction (CEMC). “We wanted to make sure that we hit the ground running on the pre-construction services agreement (PCSA), and Laing O’Rourke, could offer a unique proposition when it [came] to supply chain, with so many specialist contractors.” Jennifer Makkreel – Project Director. The project was delivered by core team of just 300 personnel across trades, disciplines and professions. In the first year, a team of only 65 on-site workers delivered over £100 million of work, due to the MMC solutions implemented.

Leveraging MMC to minimise disruption and improve efficiency

We minimised disruption to the local community by carrying out perimeter works early, (infrastructure, below ground services and hard landscaping) providing earlier access to the building for fit out and commissioning and shortening the construction programme to just two and a half years.

We revised the original RIBA Stage 3 design by decoupling the timber dome from the architectural steelwork and establishing a dedicated manufacturing area on site. We then assembled the timber dome at ground level and lifted it into position, before doing the same with its steel counterpart. We achieved critical path weather-tightness without any safety incidents.

Embedding Passivhaus principles into the design

The building harnesses the principles of exceptional airtightness, insulation, thermal density and energy efficient equipment, enabling low primary energy demand and consistency of thermal comfort through the seasons, retaining the heat the occupants and their equipment naturally create themselves. The building is the largest in England and world’s first Passivhaus building with concert hall. It is optimised for energy performance and heated by air source heat pumps, with 100 photovoltaic solar panels providing renewable electricity, and connected to an energy centre, with ground source heat pumps. “We have embraced new technology and modern methods of construction, ensuring that the Centre is built sustainably and safely. It sets a benchmark for all future work in the city – and beyond.” William Whyte, Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for the project and Professor of Social and Architectural History.

Our role

Laing O’Rourke was the Design and Build contractor for this landmark project. The building houses nine faculties and institutes including, English, History, Music and Philosophy, as well as the new Institute of Ethics in AI. Arranged around a central atrium beneath a glass dome, the Schwarzman Centre has four storeys above ground and a two-storey secant-piled basement.

Key facts

• 40,000m³ of earth excavated
• A live heavily constrained site
• Incorporating multi-interfacing stakeholder requirements
• 544 tCO₂e savings through low-carbon concrete and 98.4% emission reduction using HVO fuel
• 97% UK project spend – 64 tonnes of British steel, glass and oak used
• 4,000 occupants, 2,000 musical instruments and six miles of books