The three-storey building includes an open laboratory space with a 40m clear span, capable of housing large airframe integration projects, presentation and visualisation space alongside state-of-the-art simulation facilities. Researchers and engineers from Cranfield, and its partner companies, will be working closely together in an open plan office environment on the top floor.
The public face of the building is provided by a glazed triple-height ideas space. This will provide a showcase for the university and its partners, accommodating exhibitions and conferencing, as well as informal meeting areas. Adjacent areas introduce space for manufacturers to conduct private research, alongside office space, and meeting rooms for the university research team and partners.
Based at the University’s Cranfield campus in Bedfordshire, the AIRC is due to open for business in autumn 2016 and is part of a broader £54 million investment in its aerospace and transport facilities.
The AIRC project’s £35 million funding consists of co-funding from Airbus and Rolls-Royce, HEFCE (the Higher Education Funding Council for England) and investment from Cranfield itself.