Agilent Technologies, Ipswich

Research and Development Facility

Client: Agilent Technologies

Contract Details:

Value: £15m
Construction Period: 11 months
Procurement Route: Two Stage tender with separate contract for infrastructure
Castons Involvement: Project Manager, Construction Cost Manager/Quantity Surveyor

The project involved the Construction of a new research and development facility on the site of the client's existing estate. The project had a fast track programme with a start on the construction works being required within 3 months of Castons being appointed as the Project Manager for the scheme. The project brief was developed in close liaison with the clients Facilities Manager and the intended users, aligning their requirements with the Client's defined business case.

Castons, alongside the client, created the project team selecting suitable consultants and defining the lines of communication and team structure. In order to maximise the collaboration of all partners a project team website was developed to provide a focal point for the teams communications.

With Castons leading the team major orders for items with long delivery periods were negotiated and pre-ordered and the main contractor for the project was then selected. Castons were also involved with liasing with the client's legal consultants to ensure that the legal framework of the project was correctly developed.

The final building that was constructed comprised of a 3-storey structure. Each storey was over 8m high in order to incorporate the extensive services that were required. Due to the sensitive nature of the work involved in the buildings the operational areas required an anti vibration construction. The plant areas were constructed on an isolated gantry to the main frame in order to eliminate vibration transfer to the operational floor areas.