The Blueprint Nottingham Science Park is to be launched on the world’s stage today (14 March) at MIPIM – the international property show in Cannes attracting more than 24,000 people.
Nottingham Regeneration Limited (NRL), the company which manages the city’s regeneration areas, Nottingham City Council and blueprint will be introducing the £50 million green science park scheme to audiences from around the world.
The development is the creation of blueprint, a public private partnership between English Partnerships, East Midlands Development Agency and Morley’s Igloo Regeneration Fund.
Marc Cole, chief executive of NRL, will explain how work has already begun on the 12-acre site on University Boulevard which will see a 210,000 sq ft extension to the original park.
The masterplan design concept is seen as “ground-breaking and unique” which will challenge the traditional approach to a science park and deliver a modern and healthy environment which supports wellbeing. The central spine to the scheme is a lily pad boardwalk which will form part of a pedestrian link between Dunkirk Pond and University Park.
It is more than 20 years since the first phase of the Nottingham Science and Technology Park was constructed. This development is an integral part of Nottingham city’s strategic plan for the future of Nottingham as one of the UK’s Science Cities, as announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.
The first Blueprint building - No1 Nottingham Science Park will provide a new and aspirational environment for knowledge-based companies in a multi occupancy facility which will be completed in summer 2008. The site is also home to the Castle College Technology Centre - a new automotive training academy which is scheduled for completion in December 2007.
The site also offers further opportunities for bespoke design and build facilities for the discerning technology and knowledge based occupier.
The masterplan and buildings have been designed by London architects Studio Egret West and Hawkins Brown.
“This is a hugely important project for Nottingham,” said Mitch Stevenson, deputy chairman of NRL.
“It will not only be visually exciting, but the science park is the first environmentally sustainable development of its kind in Nottingham and possibly the East Midlands.”
From conception, the park has been designed to reduce the impact of development on the environment with a target of 60% reduction in carbon emissions. Some of the key features of the new science park facility include:
o brown roofs
o natural ventilation
o a biomass boiler heating system
o a sustainable urban drainage system
o the use of recycled and sustainable materials
o new and enhanced habits for local wildlife.
o a green transport plan
Nick Ebbs, chief executive of Blueprint, believes the project needs to stand out in a competitive market and has to deliver an exceptional and unique environment that supports creative and innovative companies.