Chesterford Research Park’s Gonville Building home to Illumina Inc’s new European headquarters

Nov. 19, 2009 - PRLog -- The occupation of the 41,500 sq ft Gonville Building at the beginning of November follows an intense period of design, planning, implementation, and construction for the design team at Churchmanor Estates Company Plc, the building contractors R G Carter, fit-out contractors, ISG Interior Exterior, and not least the new occupiers, Illumina themselves.  The result of all this activity is a bespoke European headquarters for Illumina, which is one of the world’s leading developers, manufacturers, and marketers of next-generation life-science tools and integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and biological function.

Although newly occupying the Gonville Building, Illumina is no stranger to Chesterford Research Park. Since acquiring Solexa in late 2006, Illumina has had a presence at Chesterford. Prior to being handed the keys to the Gonville Building, the company’s rapid growth has been sustained through the provision of various laboratory and office accommodation via continued consultation with the developers and the Park management team.

Martin Sylvester, Director of Churchmanor Estates Company Plc, who are joint developers of the Park with Aviva Investors, commented: “The expansion of Illumina’s facilities is a great endorsement for the Park. Their increased presence further cements the Park’s reputation as a centre of excellence within the South Cambs Biotech Cluster.”

Alan Kersey, Vice President and Site Manager for Illumina, said: “The phenomenal infrastructure and facilities available at Chesterford make working on this site very enjoyable. The Park has worked with us throughout the formative stages of our company, offering flexible and innovative solutions as our requirements changed and grew. Because of this long-standing collaborative relationship, Chesterford was the obvious choice when it came to choosing a location for our European headquarters.”

Chesterford Research Park has displayed significant pulling power over the last 12 months, the result of which is a thriving Park community made up of innovative, world-class R&D companies.  Rather than resting on their laurels however, the joint venture partners, Aviva Investors and Churchmanor Estates Company Plc are pushing development plans forward to increase the facilities available to new occupiers.  Planning permission has now been granted on both the Robinson Laboratory and the Science Village development and the joint venture partners remain keen to push these projects forward during the coming months.

Representing the ultimate in flexible design, the Robinson Laboratory will provide two separate wings of laboratory space, linked by an elegant atrium designed to house an impressive reception area and a versatile range of meeting rooms.  As always at Chesterford significant thought has also been given to the external finish of the building, with sympathetic landscaping of the immediate area adding to the overall aesthetic.

The Science Village is similarly forward thinking in design.  The low energy building will allow for flexible use as R&D offices and/or laboratory suites.  Catering for companies at all stages of their life-cycle, the Village will offer one suite of 28,000 sq ft and a further 16 smaller suites ranging from 1,510 sq ft to 1,965 sq ft.

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About Chesterford Research Park: Chesterford Research Park is being developed as a 250 acre low density scheme to provide high quality accommodation in an attractive environment for science and technology based companies of all sizes. To date, more than 215,000 sq ft of laboratory and R&D space has been let and occupied or is reaching practical completion. Further phases of construction will extend the development to approximately 600,000 sq ft (56,500 sq m). The park is being developed as a joint venture between Aviva Investors and The Churchmanor Estates Company Plc. www.chesterfordresearchpark.com