FBM Architects have been appointed to design a new engineering building for the University of East Anglia. Building 62, as it is currently known, will be utilised by both the University and local industry partners for the development of research into advanced engineering techniques. Similar centres are located elsewhere in the UK, where they have served to expand research capabilities, boost education and employment, and forge relationships between the higher education sector and local business.

Set within UEA’s beautiful parkland campus, the new building will focus on additive and subtractive manufacturing techniques. Designated research areas include robotics, mechatronics, additive metal manufacturing, CNC milling, and 3D printing. As such, large workshop-type spaces form the core of the project brief. These will be supported by a centrally-located social learning space that promotes collaboration and cross-over between the various disciplines.

A key client requirement was the integration of the new building with the academic buildings that bound it – a new science faculty building to the south (also by FBM Architects and currently on site) and an academic teaching centre to the east. Mediating the various ground conditions and neighbouring floor levels necessitated a split-level design that has enabled a certain permeability and transparency between the workshops and circulation spaces. The new building must propagate an image of engineering as a highly-advanced and attractive course of study and showcasing the work of the ‘visible engineer’ is key to achieving this goal.