Designing excellence in education – National Satellite Test Facility and The Rosalind Franklin Institute
By: Arcadis
Arcadis, a leading global company delivering sustainable architecture, engineering and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets, has designed the National Satellite Test Facility (NSTF) and the Rosalind Franklin Institute, both located on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Didcot, South Oxfordshire.
National Satellite Test Facility
The architectural and landscape team at Arcadis were commissioned to design the NSTF, which was funded by the UK government to provide comprehensive space testing facilities within the UK. The R&D facilities at the NSTF include some of the largest ISO 8-rated clean rooms found in Europe supported by specialist mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) equipment. This equipment supports multiple test processes for satellites and spacecraft up to seven tonnes, preparing them for their journey to and lifetimes in space. The facility houses thermal vacuum, mass properties, acoustic, electromagnetic compatibility and antenna testing, as well two shaker tables with the capability to vibrate satellite equipment across three axes (equivalent to a fully loaded 25-seater bus strapped to the top of a jack hammer) and across 5-120Hz frequencies.
The 7m diameter thermal vacuum chamber is the largest in the UK and is one of the “giants” of Europe, capable of replicating the vacuum of space and temperatures ranging from +130 oc down to -180oc.
The NSTF is also a fully clean testing environment, removing the need to pack and repack satellites between each assessment, allowing a fully optimized test schedule.
Arcadis also designed a pocket park adjacent to the new facility to provide much needed outdoor space for scientists, engineers and technicians working long shifts in a demanding indoor environment. The garden features day and, crucially, night flowering planting as tests can span more than 24 hours.
Arcadis worked closely with the Science and Technology Facilities Council, RAL Space, Harwell Campus Developments and Mace Limited to deliver this fascinating project.
The Rosalind Franklin Institute
The architectural, interior design and landscape team at Arcadis were commissioned to work in partnership with the UK Research and Innovation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council funded Rosalind Franklin Institute, leading researchers and stakeholders to design the new facility.
The Franklin is a national institute with a mission to create new technologies to tackle major challenges in the life sciences, with initial investments primarily focused on advanced biological imaging.
The Franklin building houses the major technology investments created and funded by the Institute and its research team, alongside visitors from both academic and industrial partners.
Arcadis carefully designed the hub to be incredibly floor space efficient, but to also encourage collaboration and the sharing of ideas. The hub comprises precision laboratories and state-of-the-art equipment including four fully isolated electromagnetically stable Electron Microscope suites. This required an innovative and collective design approach to ensure the functionality of Franklin’s unique experimental capabilities, some of which had not even been developed yet at design stage.
The Franklin building is located within a new campus plaza, which is enhanced by an eye-catching external envelope, showcasing inspirational motifs of Rosalind Franklin’s x-ray diffraction image, named Photo 51, and of the DNA double helix.
Arcadis worked closely with the Science and Technology Facilities Council UKRI and Mace Limited to deliver the scientific hub.
We are proud to feature and promote in our architecture magazine: Designing excellence in education – National Satellite Test Facility & The Rosalind Franklin Institute
