Insights

Science and research people make the difference

The Liverpool region has always benefitted from strong local communities and individuals who have helped to make it a creative and cultural centre in the North. The region has produced leading artists, sports professionals, musicians, actors, comedians, scientists and researchers including multiple Nobel prize winners. People make a place what it is, and in the science and research sector this rings very true.

Liverpool is home to several universities, colleges and important cultural organisations and institutions which help attract a unique blend of people and skills to the city and wider region. As a rapidly growing city, Liverpool boasts low rates of staff turnover and promises a high quality of life. The city’s 10-year Life Sciences Investment Zone has committed to providing further funding and job opportunities. A strong focus on digital and AI-ready skillsets alongside proactive collaboration between public and private stakeholders including the City Council, universities, businesses and the NHS is shaping a community with big ambitions. This all attracts a culturally diverse and thriving talent pool that science and research businesses at all stages of growth and development can greatly benefit from.

One example of this is the Maghull Health Park, where we recently contributed our expertise. A developing cluster and regional hub for mental health, Maghull Health Park has a specific focus on harnessing digital, AI and VR technologies to train staff and develop effective treatments. We greatly value the input of the end users and staff on projects like this as it is vital to ensuring that we provide a building that is fit for purpose.

We design building systems such as the heating, cooling and ventilation to create comfortable environments, develop lighting strategies and controls to suit the activities in each space, provide electrical power and data infrastructure to power and connect research equipment. Our specialists deliver effective strategies across a wide range of specialisms including sustainability, fire safety, security, air quality and acoustics.

We often work in multi-stakeholder environments, specifically with universities and NHS trusts, and place high importance on communicating well with the people who will be using the building at the start of the design process to better understand their needs. We check in with them again at the end of the process to learn what worked well and how we can improve what we do on subsequent projects. In the Science and Research sector this listening approach is particularly important due to the unique activities, applications and technical complexities associated with the scientific processes and specialist equipment.

Vitally, it is the people that inform our system design and strategies within a building, and it is these people who ultimately benefit from the final product. The people I have had had the pleasure of working with in the Liverpool region are clearly motivated and the region is well placed to train and encourage the next generation of life sciences leaders and pioneers.