Science and Engineering Building, MMU, Manchester
A highly sustainable new building at Manchester Metropolitan University serves as a dynamic living lab, showcasing advances in science and engineering. It bridges research, education, and the wider city region, fostering collaboration and sharing innovative solutions with the community.
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Project Overview
Manchester Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Science and Engineering sets new research and teaching spaces alongside the selective refurbishment of existing science and engineering labs, workshops and computing facilities and significantly enhances the university’s research capabilities, STEM education, knowledge exchange strategies and international presence.
The highly sustainable new building acts as a living lab, showcasing science and engineering and connecting research and education with the wider city region to maximise collaboration with the tech-focused business community.
It is organised with a plinth for the three lower floors, creating a continuous flow of spaces that connect all undergraduate learning areas. Balconies and open decks in the lower atrium articulate a single learning community that is highly visible through the three-storey ‘shop window’ to Chester Street. Above, a four-storey ‘research box’ accommodates academic workspace to the north elevation, benefiting from natural daylight and views of the city, with research labs to the south, all collocated around a central upper atrium.
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The Challenge
Manchester Metropolitan University needed to modernise and expand its science and engineering facilities while strengthening research capacity, enhancing STEM education, and increasing its global profile. At the same time, it aimed to better connect academic activity with industry and the wider city region to support collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Our Solution
The university delivered a highly sustainable, dual-purpose development combining new-build and selective refurbishment. The design creates integrated teaching and research environments, organised around open, connected spaces that encourage a shared learning community. A visible lower “plinth” supports undergraduate learning, while an upper “research box” brings together academic workspaces and labs around a central atrium. As a “living lab,” the building showcases innovation and actively links research, education, and industry - strengthening collaboration with the tech sector and wider community
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