VolkerFitzpatrick awarded contract to upgrade BAE Systems’ Maritime Integration and Support Centre
VolkerFitzpatrick has been awarded a £4.9 million contract to upgrade BAE Systems’ Maritime Integration and Support Centre (MISC) at Portsdown Technology Park in Portsmouth. Design work is now well underway, with main construction beginning in August.
The MISC is a specialist facility, providing support for Royal Navy warships, whilst researching future combat systems and technologies. BAE Systems has appointed VolkerFitzpatrick to extend the facility, to support their expanding programme of work.
The new build extension will comprise a two-storey steel frame, on concrete pad foundations, with a façade made up of curtain wall glazing and a rainscreen cladding system. With a footprint of 750m2, the extension will include a new visitor and VIP entrance, meeting and conference rooms, open-plan offices with breakout spaces and welfare provision. The external spaces will feature new landscaping and car parking facilities and the building’s roof will be flat, to accommodate plant and photovoltaic panels.
BAE Systems has set itself a goal to develop and implement a long-term strategy that reduces the impact of its activities and products on the environment. The extension has been designed to achieve a ‘BREEAM Very Good rating’, and this will ensure that the environmental impact of the facility is well managed, reducing energy, water and material use, as well as improving the health and wellbeing of employees.
Throughout the project, the team will be exploring ways to maximise social value, which will include hiring labour, and working with the supply chain, from the local area.
The contract award follows VolkerFitzpatrick’s successful delivery of the National Maritime Systems Centre in Portsdown Technology Park, which was completed last year, on behalf of science and engineering company, QinetiQ.
Stuart Deverill, managing director of VolkerFitzpatrick’s Building division, said: “I am delighted that BAE Systems have chosen us to deliver this significant upgrade to their MISC facility. I look forward to working with them on this new project, which will build on our growing presence in the military and defence sector.”
Steve Brown, Head of Integration Services for BAE Systems Naval Ships Combat Systems, added; “The extension to our Maritime Integration Support Centre will allow BAE Systems at Portsdown Technology Park to evolve, as we support not only the Royal Navy’s Type 45, Type 26 and QEC Platforms of today, but also the autonomous systems and artificially intelligent capability that the customer is demanding as we move into the coming decades. It will provide an environmentally friendly, flexible and attractive place to work and collaborate with third-parties, as we collectively deliver the technology and capabilities the customer needs for the future.”
The project is due to be completed in spring 2022.