The near £64m construction deal will see Wates build a five-storey building to combine research teams from the Institute of Food Research, the University of East Anglia and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The project was let as a two-stage process with Wates starting pre-construction work as preferred bidder earlier this year.

Site progress so far

How the completed building will look

Work on the landmark Quadram Institute development will include building several specialist laboratories, lecture theatres and offices.

Photovoltaic panels and ground source heat pumps have been incorporated into the building design to enhance energy efficiency.

Ian Vickers, Managing Director, Wates Construction, Home Counties, said: “The Quadram Institute will be a vital facility for innovation and for advancing food and health research.

“At peak periods our site team will stand at 350 and this, along with our investment in skills training and our engagement with a local supply chain, will further contribute to the local economic benefit of this fantastic scheme.”

Professor Ian Charles, director designate of the Quadram Institute, said “This is an exciting time in the area of food and health research, and the facility being constructed on the Norwich Research Park is designed to put us at the forefront of this research, capitalise on new knowledge and deliver real impacts on health and patient care.”