Mace has been officially awarded the £92.6 million contract to construct a new headquarters for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).
The contractor contributed to the design of the facility, located at the University of Reading’s Whiteknights Campus, following its appointment under a pre-construction services agreement in November 2023.
With the main contract finalized last month, Mace is set to begin construction in February, targeting project completion by the end of 2026.
The new four-storey building, covering 10,600 square meters, will house up to 300 scientists and support staff engaged in weather forecasting, climate research, and prediction systems.
This facility will join the campus’s existing meteorological and climate research centers, which the University of Reading says will form the world’s largest cluster of meteorological institutions.
Key campus facilities already include the University of Reading’s Department of Meteorology, the UK Met Office, and the NERC National Centres for Atmospheric Science and Earth Observation.
The building, which received planning approval from Wokingham Borough Council in February 2024, aims for a BREEAM Excellent certification, emphasizing low-carbon construction and operations.
The structure will feature limestone, reconstituted stone, and PPC aluminum cladding, designed using passive technology principles.
Founded in 1975, the ECWMF is an independent intergovernmental organization supported by 34 countries. Its current headquarters in Shinfield Park, south of Reading, has become inadequate to meet its long-term needs, and structural constraints make upgrades unfeasible, according to planning documents.
The new facility will be built on the site of the University of Reading’s former Art School, which has been demolished.
Mace was selected for the project by the Government Property Agency (GPA) through the Crown Commercial Service framework.