Science & Technology Facilities Council RAL - National Space Technology Centre, Harwell

The RAL Space facility at the Harwell Science Campus in Oxfordshire is a world-leading facility that tests satellites prior to being sent to space. It houses the largest and most sophisticated space design, production and research facilities in Europe.

This highly complex laboratory provides very exacting research and monitoring environments, including thermal vacuum chambers, 15 clean rooms and low vibration chambers. These recreate conditions in outer space and also at blast-off. The 7,500 sq m building includes varying layouts to accommodate the R&D facilities, laboratories and commercial space. It is a key part of the Science & Technology Facility Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory that makes the UK a leader in space research.

Services made up 40% of the overall project value and were key to the overall success of the project. This
meant that collaborative working with the customer and the design team at an early stage was essential. Where possible, we worked with our design team and supply chain partners to prefabricate the larger M&E plant areas as well as using BIM to programme the complicated structural steelwork and service runs.