The Cyber Quarter – Midlands Centre for Cyber Security building at Skylon Park has secured two coveted top prizes at the Constructing Excellence West Midlands Awards 2021.
CE Midlands is the organisation charged with driving the change agenda within the East and West Midlands Construction industry through collaborative working.
The centre is a joint venture between the University of Wolverhampton and Herefordshire Council and part-funded by the Government’s Local Growth Fund, via the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Speller Metcalfe, contractor on the project, scooped the Building Project of the Year Award as well as being announced joint winners for the Integration & Collaborative Working Award at the ceremony held in Birmingham.
Adrian Speller, Technical Director of constructor Speller Metcalfe, said: “Having personally grown up in Herefordshire, it’s been fantastic to work with the project partners to construct a building that has generated significant social return on investment through its delivery.
“Project partners experienced a number of challenges getting the project to site in the first place and it took a lot of value engineering to do that. But every time we hit a challenge, the team just pulled together remarkably.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have been recognised for our efforts. The building is now an extraordinary landmark at Skylon Park and undoubtedly will be integral and instrumental in shaping the landscape of cyber security at a local, national and international level.”
Cyber Quarter – Midlands Centre for Cyber Security offers a package of tailored security testing, training, research & development and sector expertise to businesses and investors.
Supported by the university’s Wolverhampton Cyber Research Institute (WCRI), the centre will offer product testing and certification, CPD and short courses and cyber conferences such as the recent Cyber Fringe Festival attracting experts from across the globe.
The 2,000 square metre building will provide significant resources for research and development across three cyber laboratories, advanced training facilities as part of the University’s Wolverhampton Cyber Research Institute and additional business space for up to 16 cyber companies.
The centre, which secured £2.82m of funding via the Marches LEP’s Growth Deal with Government in 2017, is part of the new Cyber Quarter at Skylon Park, already home to numerous defence and security sector businesses.
The new centre incorporates a full height glass atrium to provide a dual break-out space and function hall, alongside the main three storey building that houses business suites, innovation rooms, IT workshops and a ‘Cyber Range’ – a cutting edge facility that will defend against the global rise of hacking.
Businesses looking for incubation space can find out more about the Cyber Quarter – Midlands Centre for Cyber Security here
