A Ground Breaking ceremony was held at the new Queen Mary Innovation Centre in E1 during October 2007. Professor Adrian Smith FRS, Principal of Queen Mary University London used a ceremonial spade to mark the commencement of construction by digging the first hole.

Groundbreaking ceremonies are used to honour the Earth for the privilege of occupying the ground, to wish for the safety of workmen and the successful lives of those living on or using the site.

The project with Queen Mary Innovation Limited, is for the provision of lecture theatres, offices and meeting rooms for Queen Mary University London, and a café that will be open to the community. The upper three floors will be dedicated to the support of innovation, new business and bioscience entrepreneurs by providing flexible laboratory space for rental or lease.

The Centre will open in Summer 2009 and replaces the existing facilities in Whitechapel, London. The novated design team includes; nbbj as Architect, Services Engineer Norman Disney Young and Structural Engineer Adams Kara Taylor. The Client is represented by Currie & Brown in their capacity as both Project Manager and Cost Consultant.

The Walter Lilly Managing Director said: “It is very satisfying for all of us at Walter Lilly when we are awarded outstanding projects such as these. It is also pleasing when we are able to form strong working relationships with new clients. We believe our outstanding reputation and ability to take on high profile, and often complex projects serves us well. Walter Lilly staff will continue to work hard to ensure the success of this project.”