Liverpool Hope University has officially unveiled its new £8.5 million Health Science Building, delivered by GRAHAM Construction.

The building features specialist laboratory spaces dedicated to nutrition, genomics, cell biology and psychology, along with laboratories and space for sport and exercise science.

It houses a 25m sprint track with force meters and motion capture for biomechanical analysis, a phlebotics lab for blood sampling, and treadmills and BODPODs for physiological analysis. There is also a double-height robotics suite and engineering lab to aid the building and testing of drones.

GRAHAM Construction worked alongside the university and project partners Watson Batty architects, structural engineers Clancy Consulting and mechanical and electrical engineers Steven A Hunt & Associates.

Gary Hughes, GRAHAM Construction North of England regional director, said:

“This is a fantastic new building which everyone at GRAHAM is immensely proud of. As a university construction specialist we take great pleasure in creating facilities that will be used and enjoyed by many generations of students.

“The science building is located on a prime site and we have been working around a busy, live operational campus. That we have been able to do so with minimal disruption is down to the strong collaborative approach between GRAHAM, our supply chain and the university.”

The building has been designed to sit alongside the more traditional architecture on campus and to complement the Grade II listed Hilda Constance Allen building, one of the original founding college buildings of the University. The building has a BREEAM ‘very good’ rating illustrating the University’s commitment to environmentally considerate and sustainable building design.

Professor Atulya Nagar, Dean of Science, said:

“We are enormously proud of this superb new building. This is a significant development in our future as a research-informed community. The Faculty’s research arm is well equipped with world class scientists and researchers who are producing internationally excellent research.

“These new facilities will help us accelerate the quality and quantity of our research and attract even more world-leading academics, researchers, and students, allowing us to make an even greater impact on businesses, technology, public services and communities across the region and beyond.

“We have indeed set ourselves ambitious goals, but I am convinced that we have the opportunity to achieve them. Our vision builds on what is best about Liverpool Hope: an uncompromising pursuit of academic excellence; a broad, humanistic view of education; and a tradition of leadership and service.”

The new building is phase one of a £14million Sports Science Avenue development at the university. Work has already begun on phase two – a £6million Sports Complex, due for completion in October 2016. The current building will be joined to the Sports Complex, allowing for collaboration between disciplines. The Sports Complex will be part of the Science Faculty for the use of Sports Science students.

The university will also be encouraging professional and semi-professional teams to come in and work sports performance experts and students, and use the strength and body conditioning facilities. It will also be used for the wider wellbeing of students and staff.