Metadata
Title
Nancy Rothwell Building
Category
general
UUID
6aaafb4c279848c49d6ae9115594d9d6
Source URL
https://www.mecd.manchester.ac.uk/
Parent URL
https://www.unicafe.manchester.ac.uk/
Crawl Time
2026-03-11T04:45:26+00:00
Rendered Raw Markdown

Nancy Rothwell Building

Source: https://www.mecd.manchester.ac.uk/ Parent: https://www.unicafe.manchester.ac.uk/

The place for Engineering and Materials

Welcome to the home of Engineering and Materials at The University of Manchester. It is a place like no other where engineers, material scientists and fashion students collaborate, innovate, and make their mark on the world.

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The Nancy Rothwell Building and Engineering Building B sit alongside Oddfellows Hall, James Chadwick Building and York Street Building to form this new development. Unrivalled in scale as a hub of engineering and materials expertise here in the UK, our home combines Manchester's industrial heritage with new, purpose-built facilities, perfect for discovery and solving some of the world's most pressing issues.

Within the new home of Engineering and Materials are five Departments. The ethos here is collaboration and the facilities are geared to unite people from different areas with different expertise to work on real-world solutions to take on some of the challenges we face globally. Our Departments are listed below with links to their websites with more information about what they do and the impact of their research:

Take a look inside

Chemical engineering concerns the science and technology related to manufacturing products from raw materials in a safe, sustainable, environmentally benign and cost-effective way. As the birthplace of chemical engineering, today we're the UK's largest chemical engineering department.

Visit the Department of Chemical Engineering website](https://www.ce.manchester.ac.uk/) - [## Department of Civil Engineering and Management

Guided by forward thinking research in all aspects of Civil Engineering, including new materials, renewable energy, and sustainable design, our future graduates will have the skills to take on crucial roles in shaping new infrastructure and the environment which addresses climate and societal challenges. With the UK’s first teaching and research groups being established here in the 1960s, we have always been at the forefront of advances in Engineering and Project Management as both academic and professional disciplines.

Visit the Department of Civil Engineering and Management website](https://www.se.manchester.ac.uk/cem/) - [## Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

We've been educating electrical, electronic and mechatronic engineers for more than a century. With strong industry links to global companies, our hands-on courses provide an excellent base for a career in engineering, as well as opportunities for our researchers to strengthen their portfolio.

Visit the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering website](https://www.eee.manchester.ac.uk/) - [## Department of Materials

Material scientists are shaping our world. We offer a true understanding of the science behind the fashion, in practical subjects that meet the needs of an ever-changing world.

Visit the Department of Materials website](https://www.materials.manchester.ac.uk/) - [## Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Building on a 200-year legacy tied to the Manchester Mechanics Institute and numerous trailblazers in aerospace, The University of Manchester continues to offer unparalleled educational experiences in both Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Our courses cultivate highly employable graduates, while our fantastic facilities and world-leading research helps us to confront the key engineering challenges of our age.

Visit the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering website](https://www.se.manchester.ac.uk/mae/)

Innovative research

[### Tyndall Manchester

Tyndall Manchester has a vibrant and committed research community that brings together scientists, engineers, social scientists and economists.](https://www.tyndall.manchester.ac.uk/) [### Dalton Nuclear Institute

We bring together the skills and expertise of the nuclear research community at The University of Manchester, the most advanced nuclear research capability in UK academia.](https://www.dalton.manchester.ac.uk/) [### International Centre for Advanced Materials (ICAM)

ICAM is a partnership between bp and selected globally leading universities to enable the effective application of advanced materials for the transition to net zero.](https://www.icam-online.org/)

Study your way

Inside the Nancy Rothwell Building and Engineering Building B you'll find hundreds of flexible teaching and learning spaces - whether your interests are in aerospace or AI, or if you want to tackle climate change or clean water... the possibilities are endless.

Embrace the cinema-style, traditional lecture theatres or take in the unique setting of the Blended Lecture Theatres - unlike anything else you'll see in Higher Education in the UK. Theory and practical come together with an adaptable teaching space situated next to a laboratory.

There are even more dedicated teaching spaces including workshop space, other laboratories and a range of study space that accommodates individual and group study. Book a meeting room or grab a booth, you'll also find places to eat and drink.

Supporting students

Inside the Nancy Rothwell Building, you'll find our dedicated Student Support Hub. Open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, the team are equipped to help with various student needs from general life enquiries of studying in Manchester to offering course-specific guidance and support.

52

purpose-built teaching rooms

6

computer clusters

2

large tiered lecture theatres

5

informal study areas

100s

of new high-quality study spaces

2

dedicated blended lecture theatres

1

dedicated student support hub

3

brand new cafes

Take a look inside

Welcome to the home of Engineering and Materials at the University of Manchester.

One of the largest higher education construction projects completed in the UK.

Say hello to the future of teaching and learning in our blended lecture theatre.

Choose from over 1500 study spaces.

Our dedicated student support hub is now open.

Our Makerspace. It's led by students, for students.

Makerspace

Manchester is synonymous with the Worker Bee and our Makerspace is the hive of activity. It's led by students, for students, as a self-sustainable best-in-class ecosystem of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. So, a chemical engineer could be sat alongside a materials scientist working on clean water, or bump into a fashion student developing their own sustainable brand, or an aerospace engineer sending a rocket into space.

It is a place like no other for interactions and one of the biggest communities of engineers and materials scientists in any University in the world.

Learn more about our Makerspace.

Commitment to research

With our world leading research facilities, our staff and students have access to the tools to enable them to change the world. In total, there are over 250 laboratory spaces covering research and teaching, covering 19,000m2.

We've some unique spaces unrivalled in scale and scope. For example, the High Voltage Laboratories are set in purpose built facilities housed in the York Street Building. The research conducted here is designed to ensure the reliable and sustainable supply of energy, while also meeting the desire for reduced environmental impact.

This is the place that is home to a unique combination of research facilities. It's the place where opportunities are to be found and where interdisciplinarity thrives. Some of these unique spaces include:

Research spotlight: Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Researchers in the Centre for Robotics and AI are looking to develop robotic systems that are able to explore in the most extreme environments, such as those found in the nuclear industry, power generation or agriculture. Its work considers both how robots support humans and usage in places too dangerous for humans to go. Other expertise includes designing robots to support digital manufacturing as well as work in the field of medicine and health.

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Our North Campus story – the history and relocation

The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) can trace its origins to the Manchester Mechanics' Institution, founded in 1824.  This was a place where science and technology were fused with industry, an ethos that runs throughout our new home today.

Moving from our historic North Campus site to the home of Engineering and Materials required a moves programme that was monumental in scale and a high degree of complexity. Thousands of pieces of technical equipment and almost hundred laboratories have been successfully relocated to the Nancy Rothwell Building and Engineering Building B, York Street Building and James Chadwick Building. We also relocated around 2000 colleagues and postgraduate researchers throughout 2022. The final laboratories will complete their moves early in 2023.

From concept to construction

Our vision was clear - create a collaborative space, uniting our 8,000 strong community in one place. A nine-year design and construction project saw us partner with architects, designers, engineers and contractors from all over the world, to create state-of-the-art facilities. Throughout the development of this uniquely collaborative space, both students and colleagues influenced the look and feel of teaching and study space, as well as testing new workspace approaches to enhance opportunities for connection and inter-disciplinary collaboration.

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Construction statistics

Seven floors of teaching and research and over 76,000 m2 – that's approximately the size of 11 football pitches.

Largest home for Engineering and Materials in the UK.

£19.7 million of social value was created throughout the nine-year construction project.

Home to over 8,000 students, academics and colleagues.

Home for creation and collaboration for all

Workspace throughout the new home of Engineering and Materials is truly flexible and designed with equality across the community using these spaces at its core. Designed with a diverse range of facilities types, the workspace recognises and provides for different ways of working. This includes:

Postgraduate Researchers discuss their new workspace

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Opening hours

The Nancy Rothwell Building and Engineering Building B are open at the following times:

Getting to know the Nancy Rothwell Building and Engineering Building B

[### Digital Map

Discover our interactive map](https://clients.mapsindoors.com/uniofmanchester/f02513f6650e4646ae55c607/search)

Use our interactive digital map and find your way to study spaces, meeting rooms and lab sessions plus much more including the nearest printer, bathroom and water fountain. Use one of the three entrances to enter the Nancy Rothwell Building. The south entrance to the Nancy Rothwell Building can be found off Booth Street East, adjacent to the Manchester Aquatic Centre. From North Campus, the nearest entrance to Engineering Building B is north entrance, on Grosvenor Street. We also have our east entrance open on Rumford Street.

Access to Engineering B through the Nancy Rothwell Building. Take the link bridge on the second floor. For information for staff and students in the new home of Engineering and Materials, please visit our Nancy Rothwell Building and Engineering Building B user guide.

Places to eat and drink

Cafes

Breakfast on the go or lunch to keep you going, our cafes have you covered. Grab sandwiches, paninis, sushi and salads or pick up a warming soup. Fresh pastries available each day as well as muffins and sweet treats to accompany the range of Fairtrade hot drinks.

Restaurants

Beehive restaurant is the new, modern eatery located in the Grade II listed Oddfellows Hall. Offering a fresh, seasonally changing chef-led menu, Beehive restaurants inspiration comes from local, seasonal, Manchester centred produce. These include a selection of fresh homemade meals, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and small plates.\ \ Opening hours are 8:00am - 4:00pm, with food served between 08:00am and 3:00pm.

Bring and Ping

The name gives it away - bring your food and ping it in the microwaves found on the ground floor in the Nancy Rothwell Building. There's also instant hot water taps for hot drinks and food too.