Nebula’s sustainable timber beams rise out of the ground
Published on 5 June 2024
Drone footage at Milton Park shows construction is well underway on Nebula, a £40m research and development (R&D) scheme.
Following a ground-breaking ceremony with Science Minister Andrew Griffith MP earlier in the year, a drone fly-through shows one of the three Nebula building’s timber beams have been put in place.
The video shows the scale of the structural frame being built by Barnwood, which features sustainably sourced and recyclable glue-laminated (glulam) timber beams in place of steel.
Targeting BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and EPC A sustainability standards once finalised, Barnwood and Milton Park are also working together to minimise the scheme’s environmental impact during construction.
Barnwood will intercept and donate surplus wood to RAW Workshop, an Oxfordshire-based social enterprise employing a range of people, many of whom are experiencing mental health issues, addiction and homelessness.
The surplus will be recycled in RAW’s workshop and through its education programmes, helping to minimise the environmental impact whilst maximising social value.
Nebula will offer just under 80,000 sq ft space for science, technology and advanced engineering companies alike. The building units range from 6,000 to 30,000 sq ft, combining flexible R&D space with high quality CAT A office accommodation.
Kathryn Andrew, Development Manager at MEPC Milton Park, said: “It only felt like yesterday that we were finalising the CGIs of what Nebula would look like, but the fly-through really brings the project to life and showcases the full scale and potential of the development.
“Once complete, Nebula will offer adaptable R&D space, providing significant flexibility for any future occupier’s needs. We’re looking forward to sharing more updates in the coming months as the development progresses.”
Dave Piper, Joint Managing Director, Barnwood Limited, said: “It has been incredibly rewarding to utilise innovative and more sustainable materials like glulam on the Nebula project, and see the structures come to life in recent weeks.
“One of our objectives is to ensure we minimise our environmental impact through the materials we use. We’re pleased to be working with RAW who will be recycling off-cuts and surplus wood from site. We are also progressing new initiatives with MEPC to generate a positive impact from the constriction process and look forward to reporting back soon.”
Commenting at the ground-breaking ceremony, Science Minister Andrew Griffith said: “This state-of-the-art facility will facilitate those achieving breakthroughs from engineering to life sciences, support skilled jobs here in Oxfordshire, and enhance the UK’s position as a science superpower.”
Plans for Nebula were submitted for approval to the Vale of White Horse District Council via the Park’s Local Development Order (LDO), a 10-day LDO which simplifies the planning process and allows developments to be fast tracked.
Working alongside Milton Park and Barnwood Limited as part of the project team are SRA Architects, ASA Landscape Architects, Ridge & Partners LLP (BREEAM, cost management, M&E, principal design, project management), Stantec (civil and structural engineering), William Downie Associates (utilities), Cundall (carbon consultant), CBRE (letting agent) and ProVision (planning).
