UWE Bristol has announced plans to develop a state-of-the-art engineering building with teaching and research facilities such as engine test cells, wind tunnels and dedicated learning spaces to accommodate a wide-range of engineering disciplines such as composite manufacturing, machining and metrology.

More than 1,600 undergraduate and postgraduate students along with 100 academic and technical staff will be based in the building.

BAM has been chosen to create the building which will help to attract a diverse, creative and innovative student body to engineering as a profession and also supports the Government's commitment to increasing the number of young people studying STEM subjects.

Craig Allen, BAM's Construction Director, said: "This excellent win was against strong competition under the Southern Construction Framework. Our success builds on an established relationship with UWE for whom we completed the Student Union and Enterprise Zone buildings. This building will attract future engineers, responding to emerging demand for degree apprenticeships in engineering."


The 8,500m2 building will enable the faculty to respond to the emerging demand for Degree Apprenticeships in Engineering. It will accommodate 1,600 undergraduate and postgraduate students along with 100 academic and technical staff.

Tod Burton, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Technology, UWE Bristol, added: "The building will support our move to collaborative, problem-based learning, enabling our students to develop the skills that the UK industry requires to remain at the forefront of advancements in Engineering."

There is a shortage of engineers in the region and UWE Bristol are responding to this demand by delivering a practice-based curriculum that will produce graduates equipped with the right industry skills, experience and knowledge.

The multimillion pound building will be located next to the new Bristol Business School in the heart of the Frenchay Campus.

BAM will begin work on the building in summer 2018 and we are planning for the building to be open to students and staff during summer 2020.

(MH)