The Griffiths & Armour Construction team is delighted to have placed the Employer Controlled Insurance Programme for Ellison Oxford Limited, a groundbreaking new research and development facility adjacent to the established Oxford Science Park, in partnership with The Liberty Company.
The Ellison Institute of Technology’s (EIT) new Oxford facility is expected to attract some of the best scientists in their field to develop and deploy technology in pursuit of solving some of humanity’s most challenging and enduring problems.
EIT Oxford will drive scientific and technological innovation in four key areas: health and medical science; food security and sustainable agriculture; climate change and clean energy; and, government innovation in the era of artificial intelligence.
The EIT Oxford campus comprises of two plots, Littlemore House and Littlemore Brook, interlinked by an elevated woodland walkway.
Set for completion in 2027, the state-of-the-art facility will have 30,000m2 of research laboratories, an oncology and preventative care clinic, a library, auditorium plus educational and meeting spaces that reflect EIT Oxford’s hugely ambitious science and technology programmes. The campus will house innovation labs covering robotics lab; IoT sensor lab; drug design lab; genetics & proteomics lab; microscopy lab; and tissue culture labs, among others. The EIT Oxford clinic, which will have over 2,000m2 and feature on-site clinical imaging, will focus on cancer treatment, disease prevention and preventative care. The new facility will also further EIT’s current partnership with the University of Oxford and become the new home for Ellison Scholars.
The project, executed by the main contractor, Laing O’Rourke, is set to achieve BREEAM Excellent by implementing principles such as low-embodied carbon, rooftop photovoltaic panels, ground source heat pumps, and an integrated landscape and green roof system.
The facility has been designed by renowned British architect Lord Norman Foster with a focus on creating a truly collaborative and nurturing environment. A primary objective was to break down barriers between researchers, scientists, clinicians and patients, creating a human-centred and holistic approach to healthcare and technological innovation.
Given the project’s size and complexity, we had to deliver a solution involving wide market participation with market negotiations led by Gina Charles and Jacob Howarth, who commented:
“The Griffiths & Armour construction team were pleased to provide the placement of the bespoke insurances for the Ellison Institute. It was great to see such engagement across the insurance market on this complex project as well as collaboration with the wider project team at Ellison Oxford Limited.”
Jason Bowman, CFO of Ellison Institute of Technology, said:
“EIT Oxford were delighted at the support we received from Griffiths & Armour in placing our insurance programme for this project. There were several challenges which arose and the team at G&A worked closely with EIT Oxford, the project design team and main contractor in dealing with these issues in an extremely positive way. We look forward to maintaining our relationships with G&A as the project evolves over the next few years.”
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