5th Quad, Sainsbury Welcome Centre
Key Facts
Location:Camden, London
Client:University College London
Contract:JCT 2016
Services Provided
- Principal Contractor
- Project Management
- Fit-Out
The 5th Quad support building will be located in the south courtyard of the existing Sainsbury Wellcome Centre (SWC) and will form part of the UCL Central London Campus.
The 800m2 site, known as the ‘5th Quad’, will be a complex five storey extension within the south courtyard of the existing SWC building. It is based on a Passivhaus design with a steel frame structure, cross laminated timber flooring, and Ruukki façade. Rainsford Contracts will provide full Construction Management services to deliver the extension by Easter 2026.
Whilst the construction site has no boundaries with public highways or footpaths, the development is bounded to properties in all directions – to the north and west by the existing SWC building; to the east by a student residential block for Astor College; and to the south by a new Middlesex Hospital annex. All of these buildings will remain occupied and operational, 24/7, throughout the construction period. The 5th Quad Extension will provide much needed additional space to facilitate collaboration between UCL’s different scientific disciplines and will connect to the existing SWC building through nine link bridges.
The £11m extension will stand separately from the current SWC, with a series of bridge links (open sided and enclosed) to the north and west providing a vital link for access to stairs lifts and service connections.
PROJECT FEATURES
- Construction of new 5 storey steel frame structure built from existing reinforced concrete basement topping slab.
- Floor plates constructed from cross laminated timber (CLT) planks.
- A Ruukki cladding system will be delivered on north and south elevations incorporating Schuco windows and Trox air conditioning units.
- A complex 52.5° and 54° degree pitched glazing on east and west elevations.
- Bridge links connecting into existing building constructed at each floor on the north and west elevations. These connections to be made into the existing building which require adaptions to the existing buildings façade.
- A Bauder roofing system will be installed on metal decking with a green roof as the finish.
- Services for 5th Quad support building will connect into services in the existing SWC building, requiring access to the existing plant room.
- Hard landscaping works to be undertaken in ground floor courtyard. with new cycle storage facilities.
The new 5th Quad is expected to achieve BREAAM Excellent; Twin & Earth. Rainsford will deliver the project self-delivering the installation under a JCT 2016 contract.
