Faculty of Science & Engineering
5plus Architects
2025
5plus were commissioned to deliver the Manchester Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Science and Engineering Building. The project sets new research and teaching spaces alongside the selective refurbishment of existing science and engineering labs, workshops and computing facilities and will significantly enhance the university’s research capabilities, STEM education, knowledge exchange strategies and international presence.
The highly sustainable new building will act as a living lab, showcasing science and engineering and connecting research and education with the wider city region to maximise collaboration with the tech-focused business community. It is organised with a plinth for the three lower floors creating a continuous flow of spaces that connect all undergraduate learning areas. Balconies and open decks in the lower atrium articulate a single learning community that will be highly visible through the three-storey ‘shop window’ to Chester Street. Above, a four-storey ‘research box’ accommodates academic workspace to the north elevation, benefitting from natural daylight and views of the city with research labs to the south, all collocated around a central upper atrium.