University challenge

A leading cleanroom construction company is developing a growing reputation for successfully designing and building complex university projects after completing a second multimillion-pound facility at the University of Cambridge. Representatives from Clean Room Construction (CRC) attended the opening of the new world class electrical engineering research facility on April 25.

The purpose-built Cambridge Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE) was opened on the university’s growing science and technology campus at West Cambridge, close to the already established Nanoscience, Whittle and Geotechnical centres.

The imposing building has been created in two sections, one with two floors and the other with three, which are linked by an atrium with a winter garden and a dramatic curved façade. The latter houses a state-of-the-art cleanroom measuring 760m2. CRC designed and installed the cleanrooms and laboratories as well as the M&E services throughout the building.

This is the second prestigious project completed on the university’s growing science and technology development at West Cambridge by specialist contractor Clean Room Construction. The company also successfully completed the Centre for Nanoscience in 2003. This earlier project aimed to provide a central focus for nanoscience research in Cambridge, which meant housing a wide range of research equipment and office accommodation for researchers working on interdisciplinary nanotechnology projects.

On the nanoscience project CRC was responsible on a design and build basis for the cleanrooms and laboratories, as well as the M&E services. The works comprised 1,600m2 of accommodation, including 1,200m2 of cleanrooms/laboratory space. The remit included commissioning, validation and hook-up attendance for the client’s equipment. Services included liquid nitrogen, process cooling water, compressed air, vacuum, low pressure hot water, chilled water, 18 MegOhm de-ionised water, HVAC, fume extraction, fire detection, data and voice.

CRC’s second project on this site features a state-of-the-art research and technology centre for the electrical division of the university’s largest department – the Department of Engineering – which consists of hundreds of academics, post-doctoral researchers and postgraduate students, as well as more than 1,000 undergraduates.

The facility aims to encourage research into and development of activities in close collaboration with its four major industrial strategic partners: Alps Electric Company, Dow Corning Corporation, Marconi Corporation and Advance Nanotech. The new centre unites these companies, which are involved in the advanced photonics and electronics sector, with leading researchers in a unique consortium.

The consortium will address the supply chain in electronics and enable the effective transfer of cutting edge knowledge that is vertically integrated and commercially relevant. Their combined interests span end-to-end new technology development from materials, components and sub-systems to finished systems. Areas of focus include displays, communications, sensors (including bio-sensors) and smart power.

Richard Rowe, CRC’s project manager, said: “CRC is delighted to have completed this prestigious project on budget and on time. Working closely with the university’s professional team from the initial first stages of design development right the way through to completion has resulted in a first class facility that befits the world’s leading centre for scientific teaching and research.”

The design concept was for a 3850m2 building, arranged with a north and south wing linked by a series of footbridges passing through a central communal atrium. The north wing would consist of four levels with research and development laboratories on the ground and first floor levels, ISO 14644-1 Class 5, 6 and 7 cleanrooms on the third level and internal and external plant areas on the fourth level. The south wing would consist of three levels with air conditioned offices for academic study at first and second levels and HVAC and specialist plant areas at level three.

The fast track project created several challenges for CRC, including confirmation of the end-user requirements and the development of these into a detailed design proposal to enable cost certainty before proceeding to the construction phase of the project. This included value engineering processes to enable project savings in line with the project cost plan.

This was successfully accomplished within the project timescales before the construction phase began. The project requirements included the decommissioning and removal of an existing cleanroom in France, which had been purchased by the university.

CRC assessed which elements of the French cleanroom could be re-used on CAPE, including air handling units, fans, partitions, intelligent fan filter units, lights, raised flooring system, fan coil units, specialist process gas detection equipment and humidification plant. CRC was also free issued wet benches, fume cupboards, process exhaust scrubbers, vacuum plant and gas detection equipment from the engineering department.

The integration of gas detection systems from different manufacturers meant that a careful review and risk assessment of special gases to be handled, including silane, phosphine and hydrogen, had to be undertaken. All these elements were then integrated into the design process and later successfully commissioned on site.

A modular design approach was adopted to allow an ergonomic process flow arrangement. Service chases were also created to allow good maintenance access without the need to access cleanroom areas. CRC was able to offer a complete design and build turnkey package for all building services, not just for the cleanroom and laboratory areas. This meant that there was no split responsibility between, for example, M&E services and cleanroom contractors.

Outline user requirements were established at the design stage through a series of end-user meetings. These were then confirmed through the issue of client room data sheets which provided the catalyst for the detailed design process. One of the main requirements highlighted by the users was the flexibility of areas so that process equipment could be relocated and so that new equipment could be added with minimal disruption or downtime. Special attention needed to be paid to the likely impact M&E services and building characteristics would have on the process activities, i.e. radio frequency shielded areas, vibration sensitive equipment, hazardous gases and leak detection systems.

The importance of the detailed end-user review meetings early on cannot be underestimated. The meetings were critical to the success of the project ensuring that user needs were understood and met. And even when the build was commenced it was still imperative to encourage user feedback from site inspections so that any fine-tuning could be accommodated during the construction phase rather than post-completion, which would have resulted in cost and time overruns.

Following a 14-month fast-track design and build process the new CAPE facility was successfully handed over to the university on December 19, 2005 and was afforded a “very good” BREEAM rating. The exhaustive end-user briefings have resulted in a smooth transfer to the university and operations are now up and running in the eye-catching building.

Rowe concludes: “A successful project is the result of a successful team and the CAPE building is one that all parties, including investors, designers and building contractors, can be extremely proud of.”