The glass-fronted building will allow the public to see into the labs, offices and studios which make up the five-storey building

It is hoped the planned £30m Engineering Innovation Centre will reclaim Lancashire’s role as a national centre for advanced manufacturing.

Manchester-based SimpsonHaugh and Partners is leading on the design in collaboration with Reiach and Hall Architects. BDP, which also has an office in Manchester and was founded in Preston, has been appointed to provide the engineering expertise for the project.

Located in the heart of Preston city centre, it is hoped work can start this year for completion in 2018.

Rob Wallace, Dean, School of Engineering, said: “UCLan aims to close the skills gap by inspiring and shaping the next generation of engineering leaders, producing an extra 500 locally trained graduates a year and increasing the number of young people and, in particular, the proportion of females who choose to take up engineering at a local university.”

The EIC, which is the first major milestone in UCLan’s £200m campus masterplan, has been identified as a signature project within Lancashire’s Strategic Economic Plan and has secured £10.5m via the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) Lancashire ‘Growth Deal’ with Government.

Aerial view of the proposed building

A view of students at the new engineering building

It received a further £5m cash injection from Higher Education Funding Council for England, which will go towards equipping the facility to the highest standard with advanced technology and specialist equipment.