University of Sheffield plots landmark lab building

The 85,000 sq ft Central Teaching Laboratories block is planned for land between Upper Hanover Street, Leavygreave Road and Hounsfield Road.

Montagu Evans is advising the university on the project on planning and heritage. Design firms Twelve Architects and BVN are engaged, along with Arup, Turner & Townsend, Cityscape, Assent Building Control and Keelagher Okey Klein also on the professional team.

Some clearance is required at the site, which is currently a mix of things: hardstanding for a car park, a substation, five vacant buildings, with demolition in the works, and land at the former 5 Favell Road, which is earmarked for a pocket park.

As set out in Montague Evans’ planning statement, the CTL building “will be a landmark facility for the University of Sheffield” and will provide teaching and collaborative learning spaces for undergraduate science students.

It will include specialist teaching laboratories, a medical teaching unit, collaborative teaching and learning spaces and supporting facilities. The building would accommodate up to 1,200 people over its four floors.

The space includes two large-scale teaching labs, each with a capacity of 300.

CTL, from the junction of Upper Hanover Street and Leavygreave Road. Credit: planning documents

The project has been consulted on with the council in pre-application talks, as well as going through two design review panels and being opened up to input from staff and students, local ward councillors, members of the public and the Sheffield Tree Action Group.

The science faculty is the University of Sheffield’s largest by area, accounting for close to 1m sq ft, but economically is a poor performer, mostly comprising of older buildings providing what are described as “inefficient” facilities. Around 16.5% of the faculty’s budget goes on estate maintenance.

Montague Evans draws parallels with the performance of recently developed university buildings such as the Diamond and the HLM-designed Wave, which houses social sciences.

There will be no car parking spaces in the new scheme, with the 31 existing spots replaced by 60 cycle parking places. With biodiversity net gain in mind, 12 trees would be planted at the pocket park, with around 30 more planted offsite.

Sheffield City Council has now validated the plans on its planning portal, with the reference 24/02255/FUL.