A groundbreaking ceremony on 16 October marked the start of construction of Imperial West's Research and Translation Hub.

The £200 million Hub will form the centrepiece of the Imperial West innovation district in White City, west London.

The 48,000 sq m facility will include high specification, multidisciplinary research space for 1,000 scientists and engineers, in addition to 50 scalable units for university and industry spinouts and ventures. 

At the groundbreaking event, Imperial representatives were joined by colleagues from Voreda, Laing O’Rourke, Aukett Swanke, PLP Architecture, Santander, Meedhurst and Turner & Townsend – all key partners in the development of the Research and Translation Hub.

Long-term vision

Professor David Gann

Speaking at the event, Professor David Gann CBE, Vice President (Development & Innovation), said: “Imperial is here for the long-term, and Imperial West allows us to create space for our future needs. Science, engineering, medicine and business are changing in ways we cannot fully exploit in South Kensington or on our other campuses. The extraordinary opportunity provided by the Research and Translation Hub will allow us to do so. 

“Collaboration is our watchword. When academics, entrepreneurs and industrialists collide, co-locate and collaborate, innovation sparks. We are creating the space for this to happen.

"Our ambition is for Imperial West to become Europe’s leading innovation district. As we break ground to construct this Hub, we start to realise this vision.”

Chris Dancer, Director of Voreda Developments, said: “Voreda are pleased to be continuing our successful partnership with Imperial in White City having already delivered GradPad Wood Lane Studios. This is an exciting, innovative project which marks the commencement  of  Imperial’s research and translation vision for London.”