BIOS, Science, Health and Medical building
Framework: Venture
Sector: Higher & Further Education (HEFE)
Project value: £25.5m
Amount invested in social enterprises: £135,622
SME engagement: 87%
Project achievements: BREEAM Outstanding
Apprenticeship weeks provided: 450 weeks
"BIOS is more than just a building – it is a state-of the-art facility and a real game-changer in terms of our health, medical and science provision."
Professor Tim Thompson
Dean of Teesside University’s School of Health & Life Sciences
Wates successfully delivered four state-of-the-art laboratory floors through the SCAPE Venture framework, providing Teesside University with cutting-edge learning environments to enhance learning for their students.
BIOS is a £25.5m state-of-the-art facility at Teesside University, designed to transform health education and clinical training. Spanning four floors, it features cutting-edge laboratories and immersive learning environments that support hands-on study in subjects such as anatomy, imaging, microbiology, chemistry, earth sciences, and food science.
Equipped with advanced technology, BIOS includes digital anatomy facilities, an oral health research laboratory, a replica operating theatre, and a fully immersive simulation suite. These resources prepare future healthcare and medical professionals to excel in diverse settings, from hospitals to sports arenas.
The building delivered by Wates through our SCAPE Venture framework includes specialist equipment to enable new and interactive forms of learning for core health and allied health provision, including postgraduate.
The building required a clinical skills floor featuring an innovative immersion suite for digital teaching and a purpose-built Operating Department Practice suite. This immersive simulation suite enables students to gain hands-on experience in diverse settings, ranging from hospitals to sports arenas.
A dedicated wellbeing floor was designed to support new oral health programs and expanded provisions in Food Sciences. Flexible facilities were also developed to enhance the delivery of Occupational Therapy degrees. Additionally, a range of advanced life sciences laboratories were created to support teaching and simulation in pharmaceutical science, human biology, biomedicine, and occupational therapy, including a mock operating theatre.
Key requirements of the building included:
- A 120-person life science laboratory (Superlab).
- A 120-person microbiological laboratory.
- A 60-person chemistry laboratory.
- A 60-person food science laboratory.
The project faced logistical challenges due to its location within a lively city centre campus in the heart of Middlesbrough, surrounded by residential homes, narrow town centre roads, and university buildings. Working within these constraints required careful coordination to maintain uninterrupted access to essential services. To ensure the university building retained power throughout construction, the team had to ensure necessary diversions for utilities, including BT, power, water, private university infrastructure, and council street lighting.
Achieving the desired column-free super labs with flat soffits, essential for maximising service zones for complex fume extraction systems, involved using a delta beam steel frame and precast concrete slabs. This design choice required extensive temporary bracing during construction, which created delays for follow-on trades.
Additionally, incorporating a feature staircase and enhancing the main entrance, based on a people flow analysis conducted later in the design process, added another challenge the team worked to overcome to deliver this project.
This project is a testament to the collaboration between Wates and Teesside University through our SCAPE Venture framework. This is highlighted by several successful achievements which include the following:
- BREEAM Outstanding award: recognised for exceptional sustainability standards.
- Pre-Manufactured Value (PMV): achieved an impressive 55.2%, reflecting efficient use of pre-manufactured elements.
- Low embodied carbon design: attained a rate of 698 kgCO₂e per square metre, showcasing a commitment to reducing environmental impact.
- Considerate Constructors Scheme: earned a score of 45/45, highlighting excellence in site management, safety, and environmental practices.
- On time and on budget delivery: the scheme was completed within budget, on schedule, and to the highest quality standards, demonstrating the project's overall success.
"This was our ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ to provide a unique digital offer that will equip our students with the skills, experience and expertise to flourish within the sector. We are incredibly proud of what BIOS offers and delighted to see our students now taking advantage of the fantastic new facilities."
Professor Tim Thompson
Dean of Teesside University’s School of Health & Life Sciences
Social value achievements
NEC3’s open book approach allowed all parties to be involved in the procurement of sub-contractors, creating a capable and agile project team as a result.
We worked collaboratively with our delivery partner to set up community initiatives; these included a neighbourhood litter pick with the supply chain, door knocking to get to know residents, issuing regular Covid-19 updates and newsletters, and working with local schools and colleges.
Project social value highlights:
- 83.6% of contract spend with firms within 40 miles radius of site
- SME engagement - 87%
- SME spend 77.4% of construction contract value
- £135,622 invested in social enterprises
- 450 apprenticeship weeks provided
Sustainability achievements
This project successfully delivered many sustainable achievements. The building incorporated a low embodied carbon neutral building design and Stage 5 as built assessment achieved a WLC A1-A5 emission of 698kgCO2e/m2 against a project target of 750kgCO2e/m².
A carbon offsetting scheme featuring early commissioning of PV panels to power site cabins and a waste compactor resulted in 100% carbon and plastic recycling on site. 98% of waste was diverted from landfill and a BREEAM Excellent rating was achieved.
The design included steel frame with deltabeam/PCC planks upper floors to achieve large column free spans. The team worked together to deliver a highly efficient building envelope with U Values of 0.1w/m²k to walls (compared to Building Regulation of 0.35w/m²k).
Other sustainable highlights include:
- Air Permeability of 3m²/(h.m2)@50Pa.
- Project PMV (Pre-manufactured value) 55.2%.
- BREEAM Design Stage submitted (86.10% - “Outstanding”)
- Utilising PRISM offsite manufacturing facility
- 2D and 3D modules in corridors
- Above 150mm prefabricated spooled pipe work risers for roof plantroom offsite manufactured and delivered/installed on site
- Open Space 360degree recording
- Q-Flow delivery tracking
- 1300 trees planted by the WCL team
83.6%
of contract spend with firms within 40 miles radius of site
98%
of waste diverted from landfill
£135,622
invested in social enterprises
In collaboration with:
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