Mace has formally been appointed on the £92.6m main construction contract to build a new headquarters for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECWMF).
The contractor has helped draw up designs for the new building, at Reading University’s Whiteknights Campus, after being appointed on a pre-construction services agreement in November 2023.
After signing the main contract last month, Mace will start work on the project in February, with construction expected to finish by the end of 2026.
The new four-storey facility will accommodate up to 300 scientists and support staff working on weather prediction systems, forecasting and research into climate change.
The 10,600 square metres headquarters will join the campus’s other weather and climate research facilities to create what the university claims will be the world’s largest cluster of meteorological buildings.
Other buildings on the campus include the University of Reading’s Department of Meteorology and facilities for the UK Met Office, NERC National Centre for Atmospheric Sciences and NERC National Centre for Earth Observation.
The building, granted planning permission by Wokingham Borough Council in February last year, is targeting a BREEAM Excellent rating and will be low carbon in construction and operation.
It will be clad in limestone and reconstituted stone and PPC aluminium, using passive technology principles.
The ECWMF, founded in 1975, is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by 34 countries.
Its current headquarters at Shinfield Park, south of Reading, is no longer suitable to meet the needs of the longer-term needs of the ECWMF and it is not feasible to upgrade the site due to the constraints of the existing buildings, according to planning documents.
The new building will be built on the site of the demolished single-storey block occupied by the University of Reading Art School.
Mace was appointed to the project by the Government Property Agency (GPA) through the Crown Commercial Service framework.
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Colin Marrs