Engineering news
Newcastle University is to build a £50 million 'living lab' in the city's Science Central quarter to help to create the smart urban environment of the future.
Plans for the digitally enabled urban sustainability lab include an observatory that will monitor the environment, pulling together data such as traffic flow, air quality and extreme weather conditions.
The 10,000m
2 facility will be the second building to be constructed on the Science Central site.
The team of engineers, scientists and researchers from Newcastle University want to put the local population at the heart of the lab. They will use public feedback along with information about energy systems, environment and mobility obtained from high-tech sensors placed across the city. The aim is to come up with ways of improving the urban environment and reducing the carbon footprint.
Newcastle University's vice-chancellor, Professor Chris Brink, said: “Over the next four years, we hope to see Science Central grow to become an exemplar of urban sustainability research, bringing together academia, organisations, industry, democracy and communities to develop solutions that will make a difference to people’s lives across the globe.
Professor Phil Taylor, who is leading the university part of the project, said: “This is about taking a dynamic and ambitious city and using it as a testbed to create a world-leading example of urban sustainability that others can follow.”
Pat Ritchie, chief executive of Newcastle City Council, said: “This investment will help Newcastle play a key role in meeting the critical challenge of building a sustainable future by using research and smart technologies to develop innovative solutions to the big issues of the city and our society.
“It will also help us to retain and recruit the high-skills talent and investors the city needs to grow the economy.”
The university lab is scheduled to be completed and functioning by 2017.