- Higher Education
- Higher Education
— CLIENT
Bradford Teaching Hospitals
University of Bradford
University of Leeds
— SECTOR
Higher Education
— SERVICES
Architecture
— VALUE
£3.3m
The Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research is a new home for public health research in Bradford. As a city, Bradford faces a number of public health challenges – so it seemed the ideal location to build a new facility that would use collaboration to tackle those challenges.
The centre needed to be a welcoming space for both the public and researchers, with high standards of sustainability. We also had to work with a constrained site, delivering to a very tight budget and timeline.
We designed the Wolfson Centre as a hub for flexible, collaborative working. Researchers can work in a range of office spaces over two floors, from hot desks to permanent work spaces, as well as a suite of private meeting rooms. The sense of partnership is clear from the moment visitors enter the building: a dramatic, double-height foyer leads into a lecture space, as well as offices and a conference room, tying the spaces together.
Staff benefit from natural light and good air quality throughout – both proven factors in wellbeing. We used materials such as timber to lower the building’s embodied carbon, and carefully specified the thermal envelope to reduce running costs and emissions.
The result is a shining example of how well-designed spaces can foster teamwork and innovative thinking – all delivered on time and within budget.
“This was an exemplar scheme both in design and construction. The successful relationship between the three partner organisations has enabled the building to be delivered on time and budget.”
– LEN WILSON, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR ESTATE SERVICES, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
