Scott Tallon Walker Architects win competition to design £35 million 5G Research Centre for University of Surrey

Details of world’s first 5G research centre revealed 

The competition to design the new 5G Innovation Centre drew strong international competition when the University of Surrey received funding of £35 million last year to develop and fund the project. The funding for the project comes from a variety of sources including the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) government and a range of corporate sponsors from the mobile communications industry.

Scott Tallon Walker’s concept for the new building creates a flexible space with a circular atrium that acts as a central lung and focus, to ensure maximum interaction amongst researchers. This ability to have both staff and students interact easily is a key element in the success of the design.

When built the scheme will achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ environmental rating using mixed mode, naturally ventilated, simple yet sophisticated energy concept for its ventilation. The materials used in the building are a pallet of low energy and maintenance elements including terracotta rain screen, aluminium, glass and steel, sympathetic to the adjoining buildings on all sides.

Professor Rahim Tafazolli, the Director for the new centre at the University, said:

“It’s an exciting vision of what promises to be a very important centre for not only the University but for the whole of the UK and beyond.”

Peter Dudley, Scott Tallon Walker’s Director of Science and Technology, commented,

“Our concept for this building was informed very much by how our own architects work. We see the new centre at the University of Surrey as a place where some of the finest minds in mobile communications from around the world will be sharing their visionary ideas. Our team has watched and studied how creative groups share ideas in the workplace and our design will mean that people will have a strong sense of contact, visual and/or aural, with colleagues during the working day. This leads to better collegiality but more importantly to the sparking of creative ideas, spurring people on with fresh suggestions while seeing the progress being made by colleagues. The Scott Tallon Walker practice is obviously delighted to have won such a prestigious competition but my colleagues working on the project are equally excited as they really want to see their ideas for this creative community in action.”

The research centre will accommodate both the university’s own researchers and those of its industry partners who will come and research at the university. Part of the overall proposal includes a test bed on campus, using lampposts as mobile signal base stations, that cover an area of four kilometres squared which will be used for demonstrations and proofs-of-concept.

The university’s Vice Chancellor Professor Sir Christopher Snowden, in announcing the scheme stated that,

“The new 5G Centre will enable the UK to lead this rapidly expanding segment of the global digital economy. Locally, it will bring yet more momentum to the clusters of established and new high tech businesses on our Surrey Research Park. Finally, and very significantly for us, it consolidates the leading position of our own Centre for Communication Systems Research in Europe and paves the way for the further development of our long-term strategic partnerships with major global telecommunications organisations and significant inward investment into both Surrey and the UK.”

About Scott Tallon Walker

Scott Tallon Walker Architects (STW), based at Cromwell Place in London SW7, specialise in larger projects in the higher education, healthcare and sports areas. Last year the practice won the competition to design a new £250 million Proton Beam Therapy and Clinical unit for University College London Hospital which is currently at pre-planning stage, (in association with Edward Williams Architects).  The practice has previously designed the Vice Chancellors Residence and extended the Library for the University of Surrey. The firm has also recently been appointed as joint architects to design consolidated accommodation for the School of Biological Sciences on the former Science Library site at Lennoxvale at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland. STW were also joint architects with Populous on the £260 million re-development of the Aviva Stadium, (formerly Lansdowne Road) for the Irish Rugby Football Union in Dublin which was awarded the British Construction Industry Award for International Project in 2011.

For further information contact either 

Peter Dudley or Sheila Carney
Scott Tallon Walker, 10 Cromwell Place, London SW7 2JN Tel - +44 (0)207 589 4949

Irish Healthcare centre Awards 2013

Congratulations to the administration and staff of the The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and Livinghealth Clinic, Mitchelstown on the recent awards at the Irish Healthcare Centre Awards 2013 which took place in the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire on the 8th March 2013.

Awards:
The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital - Hospital of the Year
Livinghealth Clinic, Mitchelstown - Primary Care Centre of the Year

Scott Tallon Walker Architects are proud to be involved as lead designers in both healthcare working environments and wish them both continued success in the future.

Scott Tallon Walker’s vision for Spike Island

Scott Tallon Walker’s vision for Spike Island to become a major new international tourist destination was adopted by Cork County Council in November 2012, with the publication of our Master Plan. 

Compiled by a team of experts lead by STW, the document plans out the magnificent opportunity to create a new 100 acre National Park on the water, with the 40 acre Mitchel Fort at its centre, renovated and developed as a complex of cultural heritage attractions and museums.

Geared to meet the challenges of current funding, the project calls for the leveraging of the island’s unique historic and geographic characteristics to offer a variety of visitor experiences, from community based projects, to adventure tourism to re-enactments of military and penal life, to exhibitions, a major aquarium and learning centre dedicated to oceanography and the expansive marine resources of Ireland’s Continental Shelf.

The proposed attractions comprise three separate, but closely related, product groups which can be developed over three main phases.

• Phase 1 is generally small scale and focused on the Island environment and its history. 
• Phase 2 concentrates on The Fort Experience, living history interpretation, enhanced fort tours, and visitor services etc. 
• Phase 3 will include a major attraction combining a uniquely designed aquarium with demonstrations of the extraordinary marine research being conducted by Cork-based education and research institutions. The Island management is also expected to target summertime events and concerts, as a participating venue in the existing city and county festival calendar, growing to independent and national events with capacities of over 6,000 people.

The project promotes the clustering of economic development potential in the lower harbour area through phased investment in quality ferry services and linkages between Cobh, Spike, Haulbowline and other waterside villages and attractions. Over the past four centuries, Spike Island has been both an important military & coastal defense post, and a place of imprisonment. Up to recent times, this fascinating island has not been freely accessible by the public. With the transfer of ownership to Cork County Council, in 2010, Spike Island’s situation changed radically, entering a new existence as a recreational and tourist destination. Already, it has attracted several thousand visitors, and this most recent plan aims to increase visitor numbers to well over 200,000 per annum.


Irish Times - Ireland calling: 21-gun salute marks the Gathering 
Irish Independent - Gathering kicks off with a bang 
Irish Examiner - Cork brings out the big guns for the Gathering 
Irish Independent - Spike in tourists on the cards with €40m 'Alcatraz' plan 
The Gathering 2013

A dedicated unit to treat Cystic Fibrosis patients has just been completed.

A 20 bed inpatient Cystic Fibrosis ward and 10 bed Cystic Fibrosis day-ward, provided within the new 120 bed Nutley Wing at St. Vincent's University Hospital, has just been completed.


The lessons we learned from designing the temporary inpatient accommodation for Cystic Fibrosis patients at St. Vincent's University Hospital, and observing it in use, have been informed our the design of the new permanent Nutley Wing. A very simple example includes the provision of additional storage space for personal effects – within the parameters of infection control - as teenage patients in the existing ward have been observed to bring a greater plethora of beauty products, games consoles, laptops, dvds, etc, than is typically anticipated in designing facilities for adult patients!


The provision of 100% en-suite single rooms in this new facility will yield tremendous clinical benefits to immuno-compromised patients, and provide greater dignity and privacy for patients and visiting family and friends. The rooms are also sufficiently large to accommodate relatives who may wish to stay with the young patient overnight.


The design of new facilities acknowledges the increasing role of information technology in all aspects of hospital care. For most adolescents and young adults, smart-phones and social networking are a key element of their daily lives. Wherever feasible, wi-fi access in bedrooms and common areas will allow patients to remain in touch with the world outside the hospital via their own smart phones.


In the new Cystic Fibrosis unit at St. Vincent's University Hospital, we have specified an advanced patient entertainment system including X-box games and internet access, all integrated into the medical pendant, to improve the quality of life for young patients.

Irish Independent - CF unit finally set to open
Irish Times - Cystic fibrosis unit 'a tribute'
RTE - Cystic fibrosis patients transferred to new €22m facility at St Vincent's

Work experience programme with students from King Saud University, Riyadh

As part of a pilot 3 week work experience programme, Scott Tallon Walker Architects recently took three architectural students from King Saud University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The students, Yazeed Hussein, Naif Alhaydan and Alaa Mahrous have recently completed their 3rd year of Architecture and were accompanied by their professor Dr Imad Otahbachi for initial part of their stay.


During their time here Yazeed, Naif and Alaa gained some understanding about the way we work and also about the systems we have put in place that help us to deliver projects of the highest quality. We felt it was important that they go away feeling enriched, inspired and eager to share their experience with their families, lecturers and fellow students.




Ronan Phelan was their mentor and he produced a very detailed programme, which included practical participation in existing projects, attending in house training/seminars and visiting sites of recently completed projects and existing projects under construction in our Dublin, Cork and Galway offices.


Yazeed, Naif and Alaa were particularly interested in sustainable design and developed their knowledge of Sustainability through an analysis of the King Saud University Sports Campus and Fitness College in Riyadh, making proposals on what benefits the introduction of sustainable measures might bring to a major project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To assist in the development of their ideas, Pat Kirwan & Rich DePalma of our sustainability group held a number of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) workshops which were open to all STW staff.


At the end of the work experience programme on Friday 29th June, Yazeed, Naif and Alaa presented their work and experiences to STW staff.


This work experience programme is a very important initiative by STW that has great potential to be rewarding for both STW and students undertaking the programme. Our intention will be to increase the number of students in the following years and hopefully develop a very successful, worthwhile relationship with King Saud University and other participating universities. Preliminary discussions were held also held with the UCD School of Architecture regarding potential programmes KSU Post Graduate students might be eligible to participate in.
We hope that the students have obtained great benefit and experience from working at Scott Tallon Walker Architects.


View some of the highlights on Flickr

STW supporting the Volvo Ocean Race Grand Finale 2011-2012

The Volvo Ocean Race Grand Finale 2011-2012 is an 8 day festival of marine, sport, culture and arts, entertainment and food. Scott Tallon Walker Architects are pleased to be providing conservation advice to the Volvo Ocean Race Galway Grand Finale event and the Global Village at the Claddagh. We are delighted to be among the event patrons who have contributed to the success of this event.

The 2012 Volvo Ocean Race event in the historic landscape of Galway Docks and Corrib Estuary is making a vital contribution to the economic sustainability of our heritage. This event can enhance the enjoyment of countless visitors of the Harbour’s built heritage and protected landscape. The festival site this year is extended to include the Global Village across the harbour which will add to the entertainment and hospitality focus of the Race Village.


The temporary bridge structures needed to facilitate this event have been carefully positioned and designed by LetsDoItGalway to protect sites and landscapes of heritage importance. This recognises not only the organisational issues associated with the very large crowds expected for this occasion but will temporarily enhance the significance of a protected landscape and the contribution of its setting.

King Saud University, Riyadh - Progress

Scott Tallon Walker Architects were appointed in late 2010 to develop the concept design and construction documentation for both the new 14,600 sq.m. College of Movement and Sports Science and the 40,000 sq.m. Sports Campus suitable for international events, at King Saud University, Riyadh by Saudi Bin Laden Group.


Our role was to liaise directly with the end users and KSU Projects Office to agree the project brief, then to deliver the full detail design for both buildings while working closely with our client SBG to manage costs and program.

The College Building consists of laboratories, classrooms, lecture theatres, offices and common social areas and was instructed to be designed in keeping with the overall masterplan requirements for material and colour selection.
Start on site date: April 2011 Completion date: September 2012.


The Sports Campus, being a centre for international events as well as college use, breaks the rules of the masterplan and is essentially two buildings connected at lower ground floor. It includes a 7,000 seat indoor athletics arena, racquet courts, mats, gymnasium, student facilities and 50m & 25m Olympic swimming pools, all to FINA standard.
Start on site date: September 2011 Completion date: December 2013