Totty Building Services - Offices Development - Salford, The Thinking Laboratory

Date: 10 Oct 2005

Totty Building Services, the special projects division of Totty Construction, has won a unique contract from the University of Salford to create the UK's very first 'Thinking Laboratory'. This £700K project at the University's Maxwell Building, follows immediately after the conclusion of a £1.9 million scheme by Totty Building Services to refurbish three floors of office space within the building, and is part of the institution's wider £16 million Peel Park redevelopment programme.

The Thinking Laboratory concept is new to the UK and with only four of these facilities in the world at present, the University is looking to attract the formative academic and political minds from across the world to Salford to debate the crucial issues of the day. The thinking chamber, which lies at the heart of this new facility, is a complex convex elliptical glass structure and packed with impressive technology. Totty Building Services will fit out the chamber with over 150 hi-tech lights, plasma screens and motion-activated video cameras.

The 14-week project will see Totty strip out existing offices and laboratories on the seventh floor of the Maxwell Building to create the new facility. Following the conclusion of this phase, the contractor will then install new raised flooring throughout and an innovative glass access floor. A new plant room will be constructed to house the complex mechanical & electrical (M&E) installations for the Thinking Laboratory, and Totty Building Services will also fit a highly sophisticated ventilation system and associated services.

Philip Ryder, operations director for Totty Building Services, commented: "We continue to enjoy a close working relationship with the University of Salford and the award of this highly prestigious scheme demonstrates this ongoing commitment between client and contractor. The successful delivery of a range of high profile projects for the University continues to strengthen the Totty Building Services brand within the North-West and the education sector in particular, further highlighting the company's impressive experience and expertise."

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