A delegation from Cambridge’s twin-town in Hungary visited the University’s West Cambridge site on a fact-finding mission.

The Mayor of Szeged, Dr Laszlo Botka, toured the University’s expanding science and technology campus with the Mayor of Cambridge, Cllr Robert Dryden. He saw at first-hand how the University is developing its facilities, making the most of its available land and making provision for the future in partnership with business.

The West Cambridge site has long been home to the Cavendish Laboratory for the Department of Physics, the Whittle Laboratory, specialising in research into the fluid dynamics and thermodynamics of all types of turbomachinery, and the Department of Veterinary Medicine.

Also long-established at West Cambridge are British Antartic Survey, Schlumberger Cambridge Research, Aveva Group plc (formerly CadCentre) and the Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory.

The future of the 66 hectare site was transformed in 1999 when total new development of over 180,000 m² of academic, research institute, residential ,sports and other facilities, including 41,000m² of new commercial research accommodation, was approved.

The William Gates Building, completed in 2001, houses the University Computer Laboratory while next door the Roger Needham Building is home to the European headquarters of Microsoft Research. Next to that is the newly-completed home of the Electrical Engineering Division of the Department of Engineering, and next to that the Centre for Nanoscience.

2007 will see work begin on three new buildings: The Physics of Medicine is a £12.5 million project designed by Building Design Partnership, which is effectively the first phase of the replacement of the Cavendish buildings; the East Forum will provide a home for Cambridge Enterprise, a restaurant for the site and accommodation for start-up companies; and there will be a new £11.6 million home for the Institute for Manufacturing, to the west of the two blocks of apartments.

The University of Cambridge currently has more than £550,000 of construction, development and refurbishment projects being managed by its Estate Management and Building Service.

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