VolkerFitzpatrick Wins BAE Systems Contract

VolkerFitzpatrick has been awarded a £4.9 million contract to upgrade BAE Systems’ Maritime Integration and Support Centre (MISC) in Portsmouth.

Based at Portsworth Technology Park in Portsmouth, the design and construction work began at the start of August 2021. The MISC is a specialist facility which provides support for Royal Navy warships while researching future combat systems and technologies. BAE Systems has appointed VolkerFitzpatrick to extend the facility, to help support their expanding programme of work.

This new extension will comprise of a two-storey steel frame, on concrete pad foundations, with a façade made of curtain wall glazing and a rainscreen cladding system. The 750m2 extension will also include a new visitor centre and VIP entrance, meeting and conference rooms, open-plan offices with breakout spaces and welfare provision. The external spaces will feature new landscaping and car parking facilities and the building’s roof will be flat, to accommodate plant and photovoltaic panels.

The extension has been designed to achieve a ‘BREEAM Very Good’ rating, which will ensure that the environmental impact of the facility is well managed, reducing energy, water and material use, as well as improving the health and wellbeing of employees.

Throughout the project, the team will be exploring ways to maximise social value, which will include hiring labour, and working with the supply chain, from the local area.

Stuart Deverill, Managing Director of VolkerFitzpatrick’s Building Division, said: “I am delighted that BAE Systems have chosen us to deliver this significant upgrade to their MISC facility. I look forward to working with them on this new project, which will build on our growing presence in the military and defence sector.”

Steve Brown, Head of Integration Services for BAE Systems Naval Ships Combat Systems, added; “The extension to our Maritime Integration Support Centre will allow BAE Systems at Portsdown Technology Park to evolve, as we support not only the Royal Navy’s Type 45, Type 26 and QEC Platforms of today, but also the autonomous systems and artificially intelligent capability that the customer is demanding as we move into the coming decades. It will provide an environmentally friendly, flexible and attractive place to work and collaborate with third-parties, as we collectively deliver the technology and capabilities the customer needs for the future.”

The contract award follows VolkerFitzpatrick’s successful delivery of the National Maritime Systems Centre in Portsdown Technology Park, which was completed last year, on behalf of science and engineering company, QinetiQ.

The project is due to be completed in spring 2022.

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