Coulson were appointed the preferred contractor to carry out the office and laboratory fit out of the ground floor of the Watson Building at Granta Park, Cambridge for Cancer Research UK. Coulson provided the main contractor and fit out services including Coulson Joinery manufacturing and installing the high quality laboratory furniture.

The current office was an empty large open plan office that required converting into offices, laboratories, meeting rooms and break out areas. The project consisted of removing all the existing partitions, kitchens, doors, suspended ceiling, floor coverings and stripping out the mechanical and electrical fittings. The new works consisted of amending the existing raised floor, all new partitions, suspended ceiling, floor finishes, fire rated glazed screens, fire doors, storage racking and general fixtures and fittings.

Coulson Joinery worked closely with the client to design, manufacture and fit the bespoke lab furniture. They will also be able to work with the client over the next few years to supply and install any additional units if needed.

A large part of the contract was to install a whole new mechanical and electrical installation to the office and laboratories of which includes a cold store room, fume cupboard, lighting, small power, sinks and drainage, ventilation, heating and compressed air taps. A caged unit was erected within the car park to house the compressed air bottles safely and securely.

A major element of this M&E installation was to install a air handling unit within the roof space with the ducting running down the existing riser cupboards. Upon our appointment it was discovered that the ducting would not fit through the cupboards and we had to work with the designers and client to come up with an alternative route. Upon the agreement of the building owner, we ran the ductwork on the outside of the building and it then entered the building at ground floor level. Due to the limited and small access routes, the large air handling unit had to be dismantled, craned onto the roof through an existing courtyard and then rebuilt within the roof space.

The project was delayed due to COVID-19 lockdown but essentially completed on programme and within the clients budget.