Honouring history with a site for the future
HBD is working in partnership with joint landowners Imperial War Museums (IWM) and Gonville & Caius College to bring forward Duxford AvTech – a £162m aviation technology campus at IWM Duxford.
This exciting new place will create 1,200 jobs across science, engineering and aviation whilst generating an estimated £64m GVA uplift to the Cambridgeshire economy.
Located eight miles south of Cambridge, within the economically significant Oxford–Cambridge Arc, the 25-acre campus will sit at the intersection of academia, industry and government, taking advantage of Cambridge’s reputation as a global hub for research and innovation.
The Vision
HBD is working to deliver the landowners’ ambition, creating a pioneering campus that attracts companies at the forefront of advanced aviation technology with a focus on emerging technologies such as Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and sustainable propulsion.
The masterplan will provide around 45,000 sq. ft of innovation-led space designed to foster collaboration between occupiers. This will provide a physical hub for the UK’s aviation technology community, clustering R&D facilities, engineering spaces, flexible spaces and a platform for events, all with the unique benefit of direct runway access.
Heritage and Place
The campus will be delivered with great sensitivity, honouring its setting within the Duxford Airfield Conservation Area, a site of international historical importance given Duxford’s role as a fighter airfield during the Second World War, with notable associations to the Battle of Britain.
Much of that history still stands in the form of several Grade II listed buildings, including the Norman Foster-designed American Air Museum. The design and delivery of Duxford AvTech will respect this heritage while ensuring the site continues to evolve as a place of aviation innovation, global significance and great sustainability, targeting BREEAM Excellent and becoming a hub for green aviation technology research, development and practical application.
Next Steps
For now, we’re working on detailed development plans, drawing on our wealth of experience on other innovation-led projects like the £1bn Golden Valley scheme in Cheltenham, anchored by IDEA, the 160,000 sq. ft National Cyber Innovation Centre.
