A major £5.4million “bright and funky” redevelopment of the five-storey Plymouth Marine Laboratory has been completed after an eight-phase, 18-month programme.
Main contractor Devon Contractors has been in charge of the refurbishment at the 15m-high research facility, at West Hoe in the Ocean City, which involved demolition, isolation and strip-out, building new office and preparation areas, and creating seawater analytic laboratories and state-of-the-art control temperature rooms.
The external envelope of the building has also been enhanced with new windows, flashings and a fabric clean.
In several instances, smaller rooms and walls have been knocked out to form larger laboratories, and colourful new units were chosen by the PML staff, ensuring they were fully engaged with during the ambitious project.
Simon Lawrence, contracts manager at Devon Contractors, said: “It has been a challenging but very interesting project and the construction teams have worked well together to ensure the project was delivered on time and to the client’s precise requirements with limited disruption.
“The bright and funky colours chosen by the staff for the laboratories were very successful.”
PML is an independent, impartial provider of scientific research and contract services relating to the marine environment. It focuses on understanding how marine ecosystems function, their role in the Earth system and how we can protect this important environment for the prosperity of future generations.
The interdisciplinary marine research centre delivers highly innovative research, for national and international marine and coastal programmes, which helps with understanding global climate change and the health and sustainability of marine ecosystems around the world.
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PML has been operating for more than 40 years from its laboratory on Plymouth Hoe.
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Prof Stephen de Mora, PML chief executive, said: “It has been a delight working with Devon Contractors to give our research facility a much-needed update, thanks to financial support from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
“Throughout the process they have been a pleasure to collaborate with, offering our staff the opportunity to be involved in the design process whilst also working in an operational laboratory both efficiently and considerately.”
Prof Icarus Allen, PML director of science and refurbishment co-ordinator, said: “We were particularly grateful for Devon Contractors’ ability to work in and around an active research environment with minimal disruption to the staff.”
WWA, based at Plymouth’s Royal William Yard, acted as quantity surveyors providing cost and contractual advice to the team for the PML project from inception to completion. And Plymouth’s Mitchell Architects were involved as lead designer.
Tim Mitchell said: “We had previously completed a new 200-seat lecture theatre for PML with Devon Contractors and so were pleased to have them on board for this project.”
Hulley & Kirkwood, based in Millbay Road, was appointed by PML to undertake the full mechanical, electrical and plumbing design, including design of a new clean room, sea-water experimental facilities, workshops, office accommodation, reception area, containment laboratory, and “close control” labs simulating environmental conditions experienced throughout the oceans, from tropical to Arctic conditions.
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Horticultural LED lighting was provided too, offering adjustable light output across a range of electro-magnetic frequencies in the visible spectrum, essential for mirroring the conditions found in deep oceans and coastal regions.
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Clint Fenwick, Hulley & Kirkwood’s senior electrical engineer, said: “We hope the work we have been a part of will provide a lasting legacy to the future health of the world’s oceans.”
Macegreen Consulting Ltd, with offices in Plymouth and London, acted as project manager and contract administrator, and associate director Rob Cameron said: “This was a particularly challenging scheme given the complexity of the works and number of delivery phases. The project was successfully delivered whilst the building remained fully operational and there was limited down-time caused.”