Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh has officially opened Canterbury Christ Church University’s £65m Verena Holmes Building on which esc provided Project Management and Quantity Surveying services.
Named after Verena Holmes, one of the UK’s most pioneering female mechanical engineers, the building is one of the largest science, technology, engineering, health and medicine education facilities in the south east of England, and incorporates the Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS), a joint collaboration between Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Kent.
Professor Rama Thirunamachandran, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Canterbury Christ Church University, said:
“It is not just a facility for the University and the Kent and Medway Medical School, but for the entire south east region. It provides state-of-the-art equipment and technology for our staff and students and also space for experimentation, research and collaboration with our partners in the health sector, sports and engineering industries, local businesses and the wider community.
“This building would not have happened without the support of an incredible number of organisations and people and we thank everyone involved for helping to develop this building and the disciplines within it.
“But ultimately it is not about buildings, but about people. It’s about the University’s commitment to social justice. Ensuring that we increase the participation of women in engineering and STEM subjects; ensuring that anyone wishing to practice medicine has the opportunity to do so, regardless of background and experience. The building is an enabler for all of us to achieve wider societal objectives and I am really very proud of what we have achieved here collectively.”