Opening of the Ida Freund building

Following the grand opening of the Global Centre of Innovation for Infineum (ExxonMobil-Shell Joint Venture), at Milton Hill in Oxfordshire, we reflect back on a successful project and the delivery of the Ida Freund Building.

Split over three stories, the new Global Centre of Innovation for Infineum incorporates state-of-the-art faculties including laboratories for research and development, collaborative working/meeting spaces, office accommodation and restaurant to service all staff needs.

Working with main contractor Kier Construction alongside the Client and the wider design team, the brief was to extend and refine the existing cutting-edge research and development centre at Milton Hill. Significantly the Client required flexible accommodation integrating with the additional laboratory capacity to allow for future adaptability and expansion space. Though flexible, the proposal still needed to provide highly functional accommodation, excelling in both quality and performance.

SRA were able to deliver a scheme of exceptional quality, utilising both formal and informal collaborative working and conferencing facilities to provide a complete campus environment. The careful orchestration of these spaces alongside a clever and stylish fit-out helped to link the scheme together and encourage cooperative working as part of the Client’s aspirations.

The Ida Freund Building provides the client with the very best in innovative design, ensuring the spaces created meet the demands of some of the world’s best research scientists. The scheme not only conforms to the very best industry standards in workplace design but also sustainability and delivers a contemporary place for innovation and creativity to thrive.

“We at Infineum are extremely proud of our new Global Centre of Innovation, which is a state of the art new building encompassing new laboratories for research and development equipped with the latest technologies, a variety of collaborative meeting spaces with innovative design throughout, offices and a new restaurant for all employees and visitors. We have received universal enthusiastic praise from all our colleagues about the high quality of the finishes and how well the space was designed, meeting all the project deliverables.”

- Laura Salamon, Corporate Programme Manager, Infineum