Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre

Project: Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC)

Segment: Education

Country/city: Northern Ireland/United Kingdom, Newtownabbey

Architect: McAdam

Main contractor: Henry Brothers

Installer: CCL Interiors Belfast

Photographer: Gordon McAvoy

Production year: 2025/2026

Supporting innovation with tailored acoustic solutions

Scheduled to open in 2026, the Factory of the Future at Global Point is a purpose-built facility designed to help manufacturers adopt advanced production technologies. The 10,500 m² centre will provide an open-access environment where companies of all sizes can explore and develop Industry 4.0 solutions.

With excellent road, rail and air connections, the facility brings together a wide range of specialist spaces, including an engineering hall, laboratories, metrology facilities, a cleanroom, offices, meeting rooms, collaborative workspaces, a virtual reality suite, an auditorium and a café.

The project forms part of the £98 million Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC), developed by Queen’s University Belfast in partnership with Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. Designed to support teaching, research and collaboration in advanced manufacturing and engineering, the building required acoustic solutions that would create comfortable, functional environments across a variety of spaces.

Working alongside McAdam, Henry Brothers and CCL Belfast, Ecophon supplied Ecophon Solo™ Baffle and Ecophon Solo™ Circle rafts throughout the facility. The solutions help reduce reverberation and improve speech clarity, creating acoustic comfort in spaces dedicated to learning, research and innovation.

Technical guidance was provided throughout the installation process to optimise both acoustic performance and architectural expression. The result is a visually distinctive facility with an acoustic environment tailored to support concentration, communication and collaboration.

Together with other Belfast Region City Deal projects led by Queen’s University Belfast, including the Global Innovation Institute (GII) and the Institute of Research Excellence for Advanced Clinical Healthcare (iREACH), the Factory of the Future will contribute to strengthening innovation, skills development and economic growth across Northern Ireland.