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ISG to deliver £61m Imperial College London 'state-of-the-art' facility

Construction firm ISG has been awarded a £61m contract to deliver the fit out for Imperial College London’s new Department of Chemistry at its newly regenerated White City Campus site.

Housed within the new 10-storey Molecular Sciences Research Hub, the 12 month project will see ISG deliver laboratories across floors one to six of the building, which will include 337 fume cupboards used for the handling and storage of hazardous materials, and the installation of an advanced Nuclear Magnetic Resonance suite.

The Aldgate-headquartered firm are already working with project managers, Turner & Townsend, on the design and programme schedule for the fit out for the ‘highly technical’ project which is due to begin in August.

It also marks a return to the site for the construction firm, after they delivered the £40m Wood Lane Studios postgraduate accommodation scheme at the site back in 2012 which served to kickstart wider regeneration at the site.

Danny Blakeston, managing director of ISG’s Engineering Services business, said that this new contract win underlined the firm’s expertise in the area of technical lab fit outs.

He said: “Our return to the White City Campus to deliver a key element of Imperial’s research and innovation vision reinforces our strong working relationship and specialist credentials in the technical fit out arena.

“Our early engagement reflects Imperial’s forward thinking approach on this highly-complex and large-scale project, enabling us to collaborate closely and develop an innovative fit out solution that delivers world-class teaching and research facilities.”

The 275,000 sq ft research hub, which is currently under construction by Laing O’Rourke, forms a central part of the 25-acre White City Campus site in West London which brings together chemists and other disciplines into a cross-discipline research environment.

Professor Alan Armstrong, Head of the Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London commented that the Molecular Sciences Research Hub would be ‘a truly world-class facility’ once it was completed.

He added: “Our move to the White City Campus will see us drive a new approach to science. By bringing together a vibrant community of chemists as well as other experts in the fields of medicine, engineering and other molecular sciences, we will create a new networked research environment that will encourage collaboration and innovation.”