On Friday 6 March 2020 we celebrated completing the second stage of the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building (IBRB) with a topping out ceremony.

The Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building (IBRB) will be a new state-of-the-art research building on the Gibbet Hill campus that will bring together up to 300 biomedical researchers from across the School of Life Sciences and Warwick Medical School to fight human diseases.

Six key speakers working on the building project updated us on the progress of the £54.3M building, how it will be used in the future, and the benefit it will have for research, staff and students once completed.

Speakers included Peter Owen from Willmott Dixon, the building contractor and Craig Billyeald from PCE Ltd, PCE having been instrumental with the concrete frame of the building.

Lorenzo Frigerio, Head of the School of Life Sciences, and Andrew McAinsh, Head of Biomedical Sciences at WMS, were able to shed some light on how impactful this building will be for SLS and WMS, and the interdisciplinary work that will be able to be undertaken in the new building.

Andrew McAinsh says:

"We have some great scientists and here they will be working together as part of the global effort to make peoples' lives better in the future, understand disease and find cures. We are bringing an interdisciplinary approach to work together to try and solve these problems... this is something the University is very keen to do. Researchers from different departments will be able to work together, which is fantastic."

Speeches were concluded by James Breckon, Director of Estates, who commented:

"The big key word on this project is “challenge” – we are pushing the boundaries in how this project is being delivered and everyone involved is responding brilliantly, targeting 50% of the building being constructed off site, reducing the carbon emissions, minimising disruption to the Gibbet Hill campus and delivering a better quality product more safely. This collaborative project is breaking new ground and is a testament to everyone involved. A massive thank you to everyone involved and we look forward to its successful opening early in 2021."

A legacy item plaque was then unveiled and all present at the ceremony signed the project charter to mark the occasion.

The topping out ceremony was followed by a tour of the six floors of the building, which will be home to groups researching many exciting areas including an Embryo Development, New Antibiotics, Bacterial Infection plus a huge lecture theatre and a café for the building.

Works on the IBRB building started in December 2018 and are due to complete in December 2020. The building will aim to open early 2021.

To find out more about the building visit these webpages.