Darwin Group has delivered a new Innovation Centre for Stoke Mandeville Hospital, located in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

Through the use of off-site construction techniques, Darwin Group delivered the build, complete with offices, agile workspaces, wet labs and dry labs, in just 23 weeks.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust required a high-quality and cost-efficient Innovation Centre for the hospital. Darwin Group's highly skilled in-house team used its unique turnkey service to deliver all stages of this project, from start to finish, allowing the project to be handed-over within the tight timescale.

The new £2.8 million hospital facility was constructed in conjunction with the local Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) which will occupy the ground floor.

The use of off-site construction at the firm's highly controlled, Shrewsbury-based facility allowed construction to continue safely throughout COVID-19 restrictions. Delivering a large part of construction off-site also helped to minimise disruption to the complex live hospital environment.

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Charles Pierce, Managing Director at Darwin Group, said: "The fast turn-around of this NHS Innovation Centre is a testament to our in-house team of designers, planners and architects’ hard work and industry expertise.

"This project is evidence of our work redefining what is achievable in short timescales and we’re proud to announce that this is the handover of our fourth permanent hospital build during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a proud British company, we are delighted to be able to continue to support the NHS with the accelerating demand for additional healthcare facilities."

Stephen Holt, Head of Estate Development at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, commented: "From our initial dealings with Darwin Group, all through the tender process, contract award, design development, the construction phase, including the commissioning and handover process, the Darwin Group Team allocated to the Innovation Centre Project for my Trust, have exceeded all of our expectations. As an experienced Estate Development Professional with many years of delivering NHS Projects we are all very pleased to say that the quality of the finished building is excellent and was delivered to the agreed programme and within budget.

"My Property Services Team were able to work in collaboration with the Darwin project team who kept us informed throughout the whole project delivery process ensuring that key stakeholders were fully informed of the progress. We worked with Darwin Group to achieve a phased handover, which showcased the positive approach, flexibility, and ability to work with our team. Our service users are extremely pleased with the new working environment as are all stakeholders. I am happy to recommend Darwin Group as a Design and Build Contractor for any NHS organisation, and we will be working with them again."