Mott MacDonald hired for Kew Capital Development Programme

The Kew Capital Development Programme has hired Mott MacDonald to lead the refurbishment of the town’s Royal Botanical Garden’s facilities. The firm will provide a range of engineering and consultancy services to the project to modernise the gardens which date back to the late 1700s.

Kew’s Royal Botanic Gardens are one of the UK’s most iconic destinations for plant and fungi lovers. The gardens, which are situated in Kew in west London and Wakehurst in Sussex, provide visitors and plant researchers with a haven to explore the diversity of plants. The locations attracted around 1.6 million visitors last years, supported by a staff of around 800. In total Kew hosts around 180,000 living plants, over two billion wild plant seeds at the Millennium Seed Bank and a historic library collections.

Kew is also active in research, with more than 140 papers making their way into high impact journals last year. The dual tourist/research nature of the Kew’s economy means that it effectively raise awareness on key issues, from loss of biodiversity to how plants affect human well-being. Last year The Prince of Wales became Patron of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Recently Kew announced its Kew Capital Development Programme (KCDP). The programme is set to run over a five-year period, and invests around £50 million into upgrading the facilities at the two locations. The work includes, among others, new builds, refurbishment the Grade I and Grade II historic listed buildings, and repair and replacement of the M&E systems for the London site, as well as roof repairs at the Grade I listed Mansion in Wakehurst in Sussex.

Since the development commenced, Mott MacDonald has been appointed as lead of a multidisciplinary team to enact the KCDP. The firm will leverage its expertise in building, structural and civil engineering, project management and cost consultancy to deliver the project outcomes, including the refurbishment of iconic buildings such as Kew’s Victorian Palm House, designing and building new nurseries and catering facilities, and critical infrastructure projects at both sites. The firm has drawn on support from various architects to develop design directions for the projects.

Remarking on the project, Mott MacDonald’s project director Rob Hilton said, “This programme brings together a diverse team of market-leading specialists from the fields of heritage, landscape, architecture, engineering and construction. The unique environments involved and the ambitious, transformational projects will make this a thoroughly rewarding programme that heightens the way people experience these iconic gardens and will support RBG Kew in delivering their vision well into the future.”