IBRB wins prestigious RIBA award!
PCE is delighted that the University of Warwick’s Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building (IBRB) has been awarded West Midlands Building of the Year by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
At the core of the university's world-leading research in neuroscience, microbiology and infection, cell biology, and disease models, the IBRB will now compete for the national title. PCE, appointed superstructure specialist by main contractor Willmott Dixon, provided a system build frame solution for IBRB. Using its proven HybriDfMA approach ensred a fast, predictable, and safe DfMA solution. Within 13 months from initating design, PCE achieved strucutral completion, with a multi-disciplined site team of 18 recording over 23,000 hours accident free.
The 7,000m2, five-storey structure features laboratories dedicated to different research themes, a 400-seat lecture theatre, and collaborative learning and social spaces. Designed by Hawkins Brown Architects and Fairhurst Design Group, the building incorporates over 1,400 offsite manufactured components from across PCE's supply chain, including a pre-cast frame and structural steel elements. This hybrid approach to DfMA helps enhance sustainability by reducing carbon footprint, evidenced by IBRB winning Green Building of the Year (BusinessGreen Leaders Awards) and the Property Award's Sustainability Award in 2021.
This £33m state-of-the-art research facility on the University’s Gibbet Hill campus brings together up to 300 biomedical researchers to tackle human infectious diseases and support world-class research in various biomedical fields.
This achievement marks another milestone in the successful collaboration between PCE and Willmott Dixon. In 2021, the partnership was recognised with the RIBA Stirling Prize for the Kingston University Town House, delivered using PCE’s HybriDfMA Bespoke system.
It also continues IBRB's award-winning recognition, having won Best Use of Concrete at the Offsite Awards and Project of the Year (£25-50m) at the CN Awards in 2021.
