NIAB Innovation Farm’s field and glasshouse demonstrations and visitor venue are together at one easily accessible location at NIAB’s Park Farm site including:
Field and glasshouse exhibits
- Field plots with a broad range of crops and features
- Glasshouse facility featuring additional inside crop/plant growth areas
The Sophi Taylor Building
- Conference and meeting facilities for up to 80 people
- Additional rooms for permanent and temporary exhibits and themed events
Sophi Taylor Building
Our purpose built venue, with demonstration glasshouse and service buildings were funded by the NIAB Trust and the European Regional Development Fund and named after Oxfordshire farmer Mrs Sophi Taylor who left a significant legacy to NIAB in 2010. Opened in 2013 the glasshouse and buildings were built by CambridgeHOK and SDC Construction Ltd respectively; both under design and build contracts. The total cost of the combined projects was £2.16 million.
It is the main venue for NIAB Innovation Farm which is a pioneering knowledge transfer initiative supporting the translation of plant science discoveries into practical application; linking the science base and industry.
With a roof covered by living plants and photo-voltaic cells, rainwater harvesting, automatic ventilation, a biomass boiler and zero carbon construction, the Sophi Taylor building has some of the most outstanding green credentials in the UK.
The Building Research Establishment’s BRE Energy Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) is the world’s leading building environmental assessment method; BREEAM Outstanding was the primary objective from the start for this building project. The standards required are very high, and encompass all aspects of the project, from the earliest design stage right through to building operation. BRE currently has 52 projects in the UK within its Outstanding category; NIAB’s Sophi Taylor Building is one of only 15 at the Final stage. The building was shortlisted for the national BREEAM Awards 2014 and was featured in the "Best of BREEAM" publication after the awards ceremony at Ecobuild.
Download the Glasshouse and Sophi Taylor Building’s design and construction leaflet for more information.
