[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”off” specialty=”on” _builder_version=”3.17.6″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ specialty_columns=”4″][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column_inner type=”4_4″ saved_specialty_column_type=”2_3″][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=”3.17.6″ featured_placement=”above” locked=”on” \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n
In 2004, the merger between UMIST and Victoria University of Manchester was born out of a simple vision \u2013 combining the history, spirit and innovation from two institutions to form the largest single-site University in the UK.<\/p>\n
This same idea of idea of bringing together our resources to improve the staff and student experience was one of the main drivers of the University\u2019s 2012 Campus Masterplan eight years later. This is where initial plans were laid out to bring many more of our people and estate together and what\u2019s came to be the home of Engineering and Materials was first born.<\/p>\n
The opportunity <\/strong><\/p>\n From the start, it was always about creating world-class teaching, learning and research facilities, but our biggest initial challenge was in identifying a site where we could do just that.<\/p>\n For me, it\u2019s the scale of the development that is difficult to comprehend. The home of Engineering and Materials \u2013 made up of Engineering Buildings A & B, York Street Building, Oddfellows Hall and James Chadwick Building – is around 85,000m2 in size.\u00a0 This is bigger than a lot of other UK universities in itself. Early on, Engineering Building A was nicknamed \u201cThe Groundscraper\u201d, due to it being larger than Beetham Tower in Deansgate, or for the football fans, roughly the size of 11 full-scale football pitches.<\/p>\n During the initial planning phase, we\u2019d toyed with the idea of staying on North Campus and investing in the improvements necessary to bring our existing buildings up to modern day standards. But given the value of the long term maintenance liability, we had to consider if that would really have been the best use of our financial resource? Or instead, do we use this as the spark to move closer together, right into the heart of life on Oxford Road. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so finding a site big enough to bring this vision to life became our priority.<\/p>\n