Urban Sciences Building
The building is designed for teaching, laboratory research, events and testing real-time smart technologies for urban sustainability. Within it are Smart Grid, National Green Infrastructure Facility and The Urban Observatory, establishing this as a vibrant hub of research and development.
Newcastle University has brought together cutting-edge research in computing, energy, water, digital urban sensing and infrastructure to discover solutions for global challenges, working with stakeholders in government, business, industry and communities. It is revolutionising how cities will look, behave and interact within their environment to improve life for communities and create opportunities for sustainable economic growth.
It is home one of the world’s leading schools of computing alongside a series of innovative research labs to inform urban infrastructure, industry and policy, and provides an evidence base to be used by city planners and future developers.
No other building in the world draws together these types of facilities in an integrated way and attracts like-minded businesses, such as Siemens and their MindSphere lab, which helps us better harness data.
The building itself is a lab for innovative research that has wide applications for businesses and urban communities, and has already been awarded BREEAM Innovation Credit for going beyond best practice in sustainability. Containing over 4,000 digital sensors, computing technology is embedded throughout the structure, making it one of the most monitored and high-performance buildings in the country.
At a glance
- £58m development, open since September 2017
- 134,500 sq ft, home to Urban Observatory, National Green Infrastructure Facility, National Centre for Energy Systems Integration, Smart Grid Laboratory, Energy Storage Test Bed and the Decision Theatre.
- 4,000 sensors throughout the building providing high resolution data about environmental, mechanical and electrical performance
-
The Catalyst This stunning building is home to two National Innovation Centres, project teams from industry and academia, and tenants working across ageing, data and innovation.More Info -
The Biosphere The Biosphere is home to an inspiring collection of tenants within tech, medicine and healthcare. It offers regional facilities with a global vision – a buzzing space of collaboration and innovation.More Info -
The Lumen A brand new flagship office space, designed from the ground up to cater for the flexible demands of modern business, whether it be an international brand or a startup pioneer.More Info -
Urban Sciences Building A living laboratory and an exemplar of world-class research and education in computing, digital technology and engineering, producing the next generation of leaders for the digital age. Its unique design has earned the Urban Sciences Building the Collaborative Built Environment Award and Digital Project of the Year Award.More Info -
The Frederick Douglass Centre Shaping the future for learning, weaving together social spaces and lecture theatres, the on-site state-of-the-art £34m facilities include a stunning auditorium for 750, a 200-seat lecture theatre and a range of seminar rooms and exhibition spaces over several floors.More Info -
The Hotel Vastint Hospitality plans to develop the currently vacant Plot 1b site at Newcastle Helix.More Info -
The Spark The Spark is our third landmark office space, supporting both established and new businesses looking for an inspiring working environment. It includes both exclusive occupancy accommodation and large, open informal collaboration space.More Info -
The Core Home to a trail-blazing group of knowledge-based, research-led businesses, addressing the most pressing challenges for the future of cities. It comprises five floors of Grade A office accommodation, meeting rooms and a large open plan event and networking space.More Info -
The District Energy Centre A centralised energy system for the entire 24-acre site that will explore emerging energy technologies, housed in a building designed to blend in with the rest of the quarter.More Info -
The Garage The Garage is six stories tall and has 513 spaces. It’s built for the future of car ownership, with fast-charging points fed by Helix's District Energy Centre.More Info -
The Key The Key is dedicated to world-leading structural and materials engineering research and exploring how technology can help to lower energy consumption and make buildings cheaper to run.More Info