Rutherford Building officially opens as new home for Geography
09 Oct 2026
The Grade II listed Rutherford Building, where Ernest Rutherford’s team first split the atom, has officially reopened following a two-year refurbishment. The building, which was developed alongside the Integrated Infrastructure Plan (IIP), is now home to our Geography department.
The building was officially opened on Tuesday, 29 September, marking the end of a project that has brought one of our most historic buildings back into full use. Geography’s academics, research fellows and PhD students moved into the building in July from the Arthur Lewis Building, where the department’s labs and technical staff remain. Geography was ranked ninth in the world in the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject.
Michelle Harper, Director of Estates Partnering, said: “The official opening of the Rutherford Building marks the culmination of more than five years of collaboration between the Faculty of Humanities, the Department of Geography, Estates & Facilities and our external design team.”
“This exceptional refurbishment has carefully restored a Grade II listed building while creating an inspiring, high-quality environment that supports a new way of working for the Department. To see the building returned to us in such fantastic condition is a huge credit to everyone involved and an exciting next chapter in Rutherford’s history.”
A historic building
The Rutherford Building opened in 1900 as the University’s Physics Laboratory. Ernest Rutherford was Professor of Physics here from 1907, and his team discovered the atomic nucleus in 1911 and first split the atom in 1919. The building later housed Psychology and University administration, and was listed at Grade II in 2011.
The refurbishment
Because of the experiments carried out in the building, contractors began with comprehensive surveys and remedial work to make sure it is free from any historical hazards, including mercury remediation and a final air-monitoring survey before handover. The extra remediation, along with Manchester City Council requirements, caused some early delays, but the project was brought back on track and reached practical completion on 2 June 2026.
The work followed the requirements for the sympathetic refurbishment of listed buildings. Original features, including glazed brickwork, decorative tiling, terrazzo floors and staircases, have been kept alongside new building management systems, IT networks and Wi-Fi. The main contractor was Seddon, and the project was delivered within budget.
The building now provides academic offices, meeting rooms with AV equipment, workstations for research fellows and postgraduate researchers, a common room, and the historic Rutherford Room. It also has gender-neutral toilets on every floor, an accessible shower and wet room, and a wellbeing room.
Developed alongside the Integrated Infrastructure Plan (IIP)
The redevelopment of the Rutherford Building helps to address a number of issues, many of which were raised during the IIP engagement phase.
For example, the shared office space provides both an efficient use of the building footprint, flexibility for future needs, and creates a collaborative and welcoming environment.
Investing in our heritage estate brings the overall condition of the campus up, and in doing so we're driving down heat loss and improving energy efficiency through better insulation, such as the wonderful new windows.
The building is also fully accessible, with ramped access and level thresholds, lift access to all floors, accessible toilets, and accessible worktops in the common room and kitchen. All desks are fully heigh-adjustable, and the building is home to what we believe is the first fully wheelchair-accessible meeting pod on campus.
This redevelopment is a further demonstration of Estates & Facilities and IT Services working closely together to improve our campus every day and in every project. The IIP's first Statements of Infrastructural Intent will be published this autumn, and you can share you views on the IIP site below.
Find out more
Find out more about the Integrated Infrastructure Plan on SharePoint and about the history of the building on the University’s heritage pages.