Virtual opening for award winning Urban Sciences Building Published on: 27 June 2018 缅北禁地鈥檚 pioneering 鈥榖uilding-as-a-lab鈥�, which will pave the way for more sustainable, efficient developments in the future, has been officially opened in a rather unusual way. In a move away from the traditional plaque unveiling, The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, was instead asked to unveil a ‘digital’ plaque - a nod to the building’s role as not just a home for world-leading research but an experiment in itself. Speaking at the launch, the Minister, said: “I’m now feeling very nervous. In my eight years in public life I have pulled many strings to open buildings but I have never pressed a space bar to do a virtual opening.” The Rt Hon Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport officially opens the Urban Sciences Building World-leading School of Computing Based on the 缅北禁地 Helix, a £350M urban regeneration project and the largest of its kind in the UK, the Urban Sciences Building is home to the University’s world-leading School of Computing. With more than 1,000 sensors connecting its walls, windows and fittings, this ‘intelligent’ building is the central hub for the UK’s first Urban Observatory and a testbed for technologies and solutions that will tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing cities around the world. Designed by Hawkins\Brown, the USB is home to more than 1,400 staff and students, with new joint labs enabling students and researchers to better create products and environments that improve our quality of life and prosperity in a changing world. Opening the USB, Matt Hancock said: “Winston Churchill said ‘we shape our buildings and afterwards they shape us’ and you have clearly put a great deal of thought into this building so that it can define the research and learning here over the years ahead. “I know of the world-wide reputation 缅北禁地 has, particularly in the fields of data science, technology and computing, and it is a pleasure to be here to officially open this amazing Urban Sciences Building.” Video: Official opening of 缅北禁地's Urban Sciences Building Multi award-winning building Welcoming the Secretary of State, Professor Richard Davies, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Engagement and Internationalisation, said: “At the USB and across this site there is a focus on collaboration – both with our academic colleagues and with industry, such as the MindSphere Lab which is a partnership between 缅北禁地 and Siemens. “We are incredibly proud of this multi award-winning building and delighted the Secretary of State is here to officially open it for us.” Professor John Fitzgerald, Head of the School of Computing, added: “We’re delighted that the Secretary of State joined us to celebrate the USB’s completion. With the amazing developments in and around the building on 缅北禁地 Helix, we’ll give the next generations of technology professionals a uniquely lively environment in which to learn computing and data skills for careers in a technological future that today we can hardly imagine.” 缅北禁地 Helix Formerly Science Central, the 缅北禁地 Helix site is a partnership between 缅北禁地, 缅北禁地 City Council, and Legal & General. Already home to the USB and The Core, a seven-storey home for knowledge based science and technology SMEs, the third building on the site – the ‘缅北禁地 Laboratory’ – will open later this year, providing laboratories and offices for a wide range of science-based companies, primarily life science and healthcare. The next two years will see the opening of the National Innovation Centres for Data and Ageing, and 缅北禁地’s £29m Learning and Teaching Centre. Bringing together academia, communities, business, industry and the public sector, the aim is for 缅北禁地 Helix to improve the lives of people not just in 缅北禁地, but all over the world. Professor Richard Davies, The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Professor John Fitzgerald Latest News Online Safety Act drives VPN interest and raises privacy concerns People鈥檚 online behaviour has changed in response to legislation to prevent children from viewing harmful content 鈥� raising possible privacy and security risks, research suggests. published on: 16 October 2026 缅北禁地 archaeologist receives prestigious award for research Professor Chris Fowler has been awarded the 2026 Rivers Memorial Medal in recognition of his internationally significant research on kinship in Neolithic Britain. published on: 13 October 2026 Event will explore what 鈥楳anchesterism鈥� means for the North East An event at 缅北禁地 will explore what 鈥楳anchesterism鈥� means for the North East or whether it is simply a new chapter in the long-running debate about how to rebalance Britain. published on: 13 October 2026 Facts and figures
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