Science Central

Client Background

Science Central is delivered by a long-term, committed partnership between Newcastle City Council and Newcastle University and brought together as the Science Central LLP. The partnership purchased the land with the aim of creating a unique location where the public sector, academia, industry and communities would come together to shape a future to benefit us all.

Featured Solutions

• Viritopia Living Wall System (Exterior)

• Size: 300m²+
• Industry: Commercial Building Facades

BREEAM Excellent

The exterior living wall was part of a planning condition and helps towards achieving a BREEAM Excellent award. It has a large expanse of green area that uses over 350m2 of plants reaching to a total height of 28m from ground level and has become Europe’s tallest exterior living wall.

Biodiversity

Part of the design was to use native species that attract insects, and most importantly bees. Therefore, the living wall includes ten bee hotels.

Beneficial Insulation

The living wall became an intricate part of the rain screen cladding design, forming a good insulation barrier to help with the efficiency of the building that also harvests rainwater and uses low-energy LED lighting.

The vision

Science Central’s vision is to create a brand new quarter of Newcastle; an exemplar in sustainability in order to create a new community of science, education, business and residential areas.