The University's Synthetic Chemistry Building was officially opened by Sir Richard Sykes, Chairman of the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoWellcome, on Friday 26 November 1999.
The building received £4.96 million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in 1998, the largest single award for any university development project at that time. The facilities are not only among the finest university chemistry research facilities but rival the best industrial standards internationally.
The investment of £17 million builds on the School of Chemistry's internationally recognised success. As well as attracting some of the most talented undergraduates in the country, the School received a grade 5* in the HEFCE Research Assessment. The new facilities help to ensure that Bristol continues to act as a magnet for researchers, opening new doors to collaborative research with the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
The Synthetic Chemistry Building design follows the specifications of the international pharmaceutical industry. It is modelled on the GlaxoWellcome laboratory blueprint at Stevenage and has benefited from active advice and input by Bristol chemists.
Housed on five storeys, the new building accommodates 200 researchers. Sixteen laboratories with 198 fume-hood workstations and separate write-up areas represent the very latest in laboratory design. Outside the research laboratories, a two-corridor system fully separates the laboratory and office environment. This is a novel concept for academic researchers and one that will probably take some getting used to. On one side of the building the service corridor allows access between laboratories and to the chemical services. The second 'clean' corridor is chemical free and gives access to the laboratory write-up areas, offices and meeting rooms.
The facilities help to produce 'industry friendly' graduates who are well placed to become highly prized industrial recruits for the 21st century.
 Front view of the new building - daytime. |
 Another front view of the new building - evening. |
 Side view of the new building - night-time. |
 The new building, seen from Park Street. |
 View from near the roof. |
 The state-of-the-art labs. |
 Another view of the labs and fumecupboards. |
 Office space. |
 Offices and write-up areas. |
 The labs and fumecupboards. |
 The Corridor. |
 Working and write-up area. |
Chemistry alumni have been generous in their support of this initiative, with over £140,000 raised through individual contributions. This commitment demonstrates the goodwill felt by students years after they have left the University. In recognition of this endorsement, a piece of artwork will be commissioned to commemorate their support, as a permanent acknowledgement of our gratitude.
'The University of Bristol has been a leader in the education of young chemists for more than 100 years.
Bristol was fortunate that William Ramsay was among its early Professors of Chemistry. Ramsay, who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the rare gases, established important Bristol traditions. First, the idea that teaching was best done in an atmosphere of research. Second, that young men and women worked best when they devised and undertook their own experiments. Third, the concept that what was done in academic life should have a relevance to the industrial life of the country.
These are strong academic traditions which form the basis of education at Bristol and which the University aims to take into the next Millennium. The new Synthetic Chemistry Building will enable research and teaching to be carried out under conditions which meet the needs of the 21st century putting Bristol at the leading edge of research and serving a national need for chemists trained to the highest industry standards.'
- Sir John Kingman FRS (previous Vice Chancellor of Bristol University)
