Progress on the new home for the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CEB) 听has been celebrated with a traditional topping-out ceremony.

探花直播main contractor Morgan Sindall hosted the event at the 探花直播鈥檚 West Cambridge site, where the state-of-the-art laboratory is being built. 探花直播event marked the completion of the concrete frame and roof - key milestones in the 拢60 million project, which is due to be handed over in June 2015.

探花直播dignitaries attending included the Vice-Chancellor of the 探花直播, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research Professor Lynn Gladden and Angus Stephen, Director of Operations for the 探花直播's Estate Management.

探花直播CEB will be used to promote collaboration and interdisciplinary working among research groups, researchers and students.

探花直播project follows the merger of the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Institute of Biotechnology. They are presently located in separate buildings in Cambridge city centre and need room for growth. 探花直播departments have outstanding reputations in the fields of chemistry, physics, mathematics, clinical medicine and biology.听

探花直播new building is the first to facilitate collaboration between undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers through the whole cycle of scientific investigation.听

Professor Nigel Slater, Head of Department, said; 鈥淪ince last year the Department has followed the building progress through the CCTV-internet link and our excitement has grown steadily as it has sprouted ever upwards.听 We appreciate that the diverse research and teaching activities of the Department, and the specialised facilities that these require, make the building extremely complex yet we have been amazed by the pace of progress.听 Our excitement is heightened by today鈥檚 topping out ceremony, and we are grateful for what has been achieved on the project to date.鈥

Bob Ensch, area director for Morgan Sindall, said: 鈥 探花直播Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Building is a landmark project for the 探花直播 of Cambridge and will add further to its international reputation for learning and research in this field. 探花直播project team is working well with all of the stakeholders involved, and it鈥檚 a privilege to bring our construction expertise to bear on such a significant scheme.鈥

探花直播CEB was designed by BDP architects, with a project team that includes Ramboll UK as civil and structural engineers and Hoare Lea as services engineers.

探花直播CEB will feature a wide range of biological laboratories to Bio Safety Levels Two and Three, cleanrooms, sensitive laser, optics and imaging laboratories, a Magnetic Resonance Research Centre, materials and processes laboratories and an undergraduate teaching laboratory.

探花直播undergraduate teaching facilities support these laboratories through dedicated spaces that include two 120-seat lecture theatres, a postgraduate open plan researcher write-up space, and academic and administrative offices.

It stands on the 探花直播鈥檚 West Cambridge site which covers 66-hectares between the M11 motorway, Madingley Road, and Clerk Maxwell Road.听 探花直播site is already home to the renowned Cavendish Laboratories and the British Antarctic Survey.

To watch a video made on the occasion click

探花直播text in this work is licensed under a . If you use this content on your site please link back to this page. For image rights, please see the credits associated with each individual image.