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Sensor City

A global hub for the development of sensor technologies. Sensor City is a purpose-built base in Liverpool offering existing companies and entrepreneurs the technical expertise, business support and international platform needed to collaborate, develop, fund and promote sensor solutions to a global market. 

Winner of best Vocational Building – Spaces Network

THE PROJECT

Sensor City is a joint venture between Liverpool John Moores University and The University of Liverpool, and is backed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

Completed July 2017 by the architects at IBI Group and Kier Construction

It was essential that the teams worked closely with the clients as well as the stakeholders to ensure the aspirations for this ambitious project were met. 

SPECIALISTS WERE REQUIRED

The site was also on a tight footprint in close proximity to a live railway line and Liverpool Lime Street Station. Kier specialists worked with Network Rail to assist in the process through providing tracking visuals and a swept path analysis to monitor the movements of the crane. This helped to resolve oversailing issues and achieve licences. 

The team also had to create a complex façade and a building that needed to be energy efficient and flexible.

The project recieved £5m from the Department for Business, Enterprise & Industrial Strategy in 2014 and £5m from the European Regional Development Fund in 2016.

THE ART OF THE BUILDING

The planning department at Liverpool City Council and Public Art Officer, Lesley Woodbridge supported the idea of incorporating Public Art into the facade of the building.

The project architect Richard Mallinson from IBI Group organised a competition to select an artist to design the facade glazing and in May 2016, Julian Stocks was chosen to design and oversee the manufacture of his facade artwork “Fields of Gold”.

“The pattern on the veil represents the flow of sensor data in digital and analogue formats. The demarcation between the various segments could represent individual sensor channels as data flows from the sensor.”
Joe Spencer
Professor, University of Liverpool

MANUFACTURE

The glass was manufactured in Spain by Ariño Duglass, with Julian visiting the factory to oversee the production of sample panels. The manufacturing process began in December 2016 with the first panels on site for installation in January 2017.

This rapid processing of 700 square metres of glass was only possible thanks to careful planning and over 800 hours of design time to perfect this innovative printing system.

Information source: Sensor City

CCN PROJECT SPEC

We are happy with the results of this project. CCN supplied 80 doorsets and 30 glazed screens for this project. 

  • American Black Walnut veneered doors with matching lipping & vision panel beading.
  • FireZONE doorsets fire rated to 60 minutes.
  • SoundZONE doorsets acoustic rated to 35dB
  • SoundZONE timber glazed screens with sound reduction properties up to 35dB
  • FireZONE timber glazed screens fire rated to 60 minutes
  • Range of vision panel designs including large glazed circulation doorsets

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