Ray Dolby Centre for Cambridge University's Physics Department

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Named after Ray Dolby, a PhD alumnus of Cambridge University, former fellow of Pembroke College, inventor and founder of Dolby, the a/v company, the new facility was designed in Revit by nbbj and is being delivered in BIM by Bouygues UK. Co-funded by Dolby, it will create a centre for innovation, bringing together the academic and research capabilities of the university’s physics department with private sector R&D projects.

OUR SCOPE WORK

Norwood is delivering a £1.9 million package that includes custom-design, manufacture and installation of the £200K, 2.85m high fire-rated glazed wall. The company’s remit also includes a 2500m² walk-on ceiling with a 100kg/1200mm² load capacity to enable ease of maintenance. Norwood is also responsible for design, manufacture and installation of a cleanroom partitioning system totalling 4080m². For this element of the project, the Norwood team designed a bespoke version of the company’s standard 1000mm modular cleanroom partitioning system to meet the required 1200mm specification, and developed a bespoke T-bolt system to enable customisation of the cleanroom facilities for evolving occupier requirements throughout the lifecycle of the building.

The fire-rated glazed wall was designed and manufactured by Norwood and independently tested by UKAS-accredited fire safety services specialist, Warringtonfire, to ensure 60-minute fire integrity and insulation . With each glazed panel weighing 200kg, the installation was meticulously orchestrated by Norwood. The installation will showcase the work being carried out in each of the cleanroom spaces as visitors enter the building via the atrium, with blackout blinds installed to enable any commercially sensitive projects to be hidden from view where required.