The Building Research Park has an office with wifi and printing facilities, a welfare area and toilets. We have a stock of equipment, resource, and tools available for use by researchers. The onsite technician is Dr Craig Brakes who is responsible for maintaining the site, and assisting with and monitoring research projects.
Test platforms
Our test platforms act as bases on which you can build your prototype construction. The 5m x 5m platforms allow for the creation of small temporary building structures up to 125m3. They are ideal for time-critical research and for validating laboratory test results. Each has its own electrical supply. They can be used to monitor:
- buildability
- weather resistance
- environmental performance
- intelligent monitoring
- laboratory validation
- demonstrations
- full-scale trials
The HIVE
The HIVE is made up of test cells for hygrothermal performance, flood and construction load research.
Hygrothermal cells
The cells test façades to prove the construction efficiency of materials under real-weather scenarios. They can test the energy efficiency of materials, air tightness and acoustic efficiency.
Double-storey cell
This cell allows you to explore the multi-level aspect of façade efficiency and create different internal scenarios. It also offers a strong roof capable of load testing large panels and floors.
Bladder cell
Use the bladder cell to carry out Uniformly Distributed Load (UDL) testing on small panels. This tests the impact of windloading and retainment scenarios.
Flood cell
The flood tank allows for flood test façades and construction materials with water up to a metre in height. This helps to analyse the performance of the construction before, during and after flooding.
Large Environmental Chamber
The Environmental Chamber is a controlled large scale building physics test facility. The chamber allows a variety of controlled environment tests (such as temperature, sunlight, humidity, and water spray) on large scale construction panels. If you wish to learn more about the LEC or conduct research please contact Dr Andrew Shea.