Digital Health Enterprise Zone Academic Building – Bradford
Bowman Riley provided the roles of architect, client’s agent, party wall surveyor and principal designer on a new research and innovation centre for The University of Bradford and the Digital Health Enterprise Zone created to support the research and development of digital health innovations to improve the lives of people living with long-term conditions.
The rambling and under-used 19th-century mill complex, Phoenix South West, on the University’s campus has undergone an extensive transformation to become a leading edge digital health research facility entitled the Digital Health Enterprise Zone Academic Building. The design retains many original features including cast iron columns and a structural frame supporting a north-light roof profile to a large part of the building.
It is the University’s focal point for access to the newest technology, research, and projects in digital health. The key design challenge involved creating a visual identity for the various parties housed in the Centre as a unified community and to provide a gateway to the campus that is accessible to the public.
The centre offers four floors of research, learning, exhibition and business incubation space. It has public clinics for physiotherapy, eye examinations and reviews of patient medicines. A key feature is a full-size two bedroom Technology Smart House that links to a 50-seat lecture theatre.
The Technology House will serve as a dynamic demonstrator of research and undergraduate and postgraduate projects to showcase technological advancement in digital health that can benefit people in their homes.
Bowman Riley has played a pivotal role in the delivery of the building from condition surveys and feasibility reports to the full design of the project. Our client’s agent oversaw the project’s delivery to ensure that the client’s vision was maintained and the works were completed to the highest standard.