Working alongside our partner contractors Willmott Dixon once again, the Greenhey’s project has been a hugely rewarding, architecturally challenging scheme that has seen us push the boundaries of design and embrace new, cutting-edge products.
The Details
We used the innovative CW50 product from Reynaers, specially engineered for this project, along with bespoke dies that were produced for the feature fins. We also utilised Saint Gobain glass (COOL-LITE XTREME 70/33) and United Anodisers for the bespoke project finish in Green and Blue-Grey.
As always, price was a key driver for this design led structure & the Reynaers team understood the brief intrinsically and engineered an innovative and cost-effective solution that embraced the fundamentals of the design.
Technical support also played a huge part. Working alongside our specialist designers and façade engineers (at Design Engine), the Reynaers team worked collaboratively to help develop a solution for the vertical and horizontal feature fins
This collaborative approach to develop bespoke profiles to match the overall architectural intent was fundamental to the successful delivery of this landmark structure.
Installation
Notwithstanding the fact that the design of the building is so unique, installation was relatively standard with façade access enabled via mast climbers, with stick build for grid and glass lift from inside.
By adopting a highly flexible approach, we were able to work from MEWP’s to lower floors in order to progress the installation prior to mast climbers being installed. Specialist tower cranes were then used to install the glazing for the large, curved, insulated glass panels.
Once fully completed, Greenheys will span 131,000 sq ft across six floors and will redefine the landscape of specialised laboratory spaces for diagnostics, genomics, biotech and precision medicine businesses, forming part of Bruntwood SciTech’s ever-growing portfolio.
It is set to help revolutionise the pace of scientific discovery as the future HQ of UK Biobank, the world’s most comprehensive source of health data for research.
Client Feedback – Chris Baker – Project Director, Willmott Dixon:
“It’s been a pleasure to collaborate with the team from RED Systems once again on this landmark science and research facility in Manchester. The unique design and exacting specifications meant the RED team really had to think outside the box and work extremely closely with our project team and designers throughout the build process. Another impressive example of collaboration and innovation in action, bringing this challenging project to life on time and on budget”
