Multiple isolation chambers for the world class research centre, IBERS

The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) is a world class research and education centre at Aberystwyth University. In a strategic alliance with Bangor University to create one of the worlds key resources for investigating sustainable land use and environmental issues it was agreed that this would be based at the IGER site at Plas Goggerdan.

Unigro were commissioned in September 2007 to design and build isolation greenhouses for the production of grass seeds. The brief required a complex of six buildings to provide a total of 161 research chambers. Each chamber required positive air pressure to prevent contamination between chambers and temperatures maintained at no more than 5C above ambient. The project included attaining planning permission, demolition of existing glasshouses, groundworks, drainage, diversion of utilities, access roads and a rainwater harvesting system.

The research facilities are glazed with Makrolon long life U/V stable 10mm twinwall polycarbonate and fitted with an automatic irrigation system supplied from the rainwater harvesting system.

Cooling is maintained with wall mounted F5, 10 micron filtered fan units with dissipated airflow to provide up to 8 air changes per minute. Each building is fitted with 2 aspirated temperature sensors which initiate critical temperature alarms. The facilities were handed over in stages between May 2008 and October 2008.

Simon Morris the Chief Engineer of IBER said "Unigro has provided an excellent professional service throughout the project, delivering the facilities on time! In this complex world Unigro

delivered 'what it said on the tin' and met all the user expectations".