NI-based contractor Graham has been selected to deliver a new research facility in Berkshire.

Multinational manufacturer Procter & Gamble has chosen the firm to deliver the Innovation Centre in Reading, which will comprise research and development offices and laboratories for the company's staff.

Located to the south of Reading city centre, the facility has been the research and development laboratory responsible for the front-end innovation for new Procter & Gamble razor products used across the world.

Working in partnership with The Fairhursts Design Group, Graham will demolish the south-western wing of the existing building to make way for a new two-storey building comprising offices and laboratories. In addition, new and existing buildings will be linked by a glazed atrium which will provide views over the newly landscaped green spaces and a prominent entrance for staff and visitors.

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The project will offer flexible, efficient and sustainable work accommodation, as well as acknowledging the site's industrial history through a sympathetic design to complement the existing Gillette manufacturing building facing Basingstoke Road.

Once complete in 2019, the building will provide high-quality research facilities that support the needs and talents of the scientists who work there.

Rob Joyce, Graham's London office Director, said: "This new development will provide state-of-the-art laboratories and research facilities to support the needs of Procter & Gamble's workforce. Our aim is to create a modern, fit for purpose facility that is sympathetic to the site's history while encouraging innovation."

Richard Sagar, Managing Director of The Fairhursts Design Group, said: "We are proud to be involved in such a significant project alongside GRAHAM. The project teams' collaborative approach will see the vision for the Innovation Centre in Reading come to life and provide enhanced research and development facilities that are modern and adaptable."

(LM/MH)