Colworth Exchange, Colworth Park

Colworth Science Park is a research and development site in Bedfordshire, which offers bespoke solutions to companies requiring offices, meeting and conferencing facilities and laboratory space. CGA has recently undertaken the fit out of an area within the ground floor of the Exchange building to a laboratory specification including services to a Cat B specification.

The works included the creation of three suites with a shell and core finished area. The areas were mainly laboratory space with adjoining offices/meeting rooms and one storeroom/cleaners cupboard.

The spaces were created to minimise sound transference using soundboard and all junctions were sealed with acoustic mastic and sound-bloc, also the laboratory spaces had to be built to ensure a hygienic cleaning regime could be carried out so all surfaces had to be impervious to moisture so all walls were sealed along with coved skirting to the rubber floor and all joinery i.e. internal windows/doors and frames where wrapped with Acrovyn plastic and the suspended ceilings covered with a Bio-guard coating. All three suites had a combination of bespoke furniture, rubber floor, carpets, windows and doors.

Services Specification
We installed a new A/C branch to each suite radiating from the existing air handling units which was connected to the existing BMS. We also installed new power and data to the area’s which included installation of a new IT cupboard and rack elsewhere in the building and run our data cables back approx. 60 metres. Sinks with hot and cold water were installed to two of the suites along with a bespoke emergency eye washing stations connected to the mains.

Working on occupied campus‍
The logistics for the job were quite challenging due to all materials/tools and waste having to be transferred to site via occupied areas. This was achieved with minimal disruption to the public as deliveries/collections were scheduled either early morning or late in the evening and all transfers were banked by our site supervisor.