Zochonis Building nears completion with 80% lower carbon emissions
09 Nov 2026
Psychology staff and students will return to a refurbished Zochonis Building in January 2027, in a building that will save 238 tonnes of carbon a year and has been shaped by the people who will use it.
The refurbishment of the Zochonis Building is nearing completion, with colleagues and students from Psychology set to move back in January 2027 after just over two years away. Led by Estates & Facilities in close partnership with FBMH, and delivered by contractor Vinci, the project has stayed on programme throughout, with up to 110 people working on site each day at its peak.
The building will be home to the School of Health Sciences' Division of Psychology and Mental Health and Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience, bringing teaching, research and clinical training back together under one roof.
Michelle Harper, Director of Estates (Partnering), said: "Zochonis shows what we can achieve by investing in the buildings we already have. From the start, we've worked with the people who will use this building, and their ideas have changed the design for the better. It's been a real team effort across the University, and I'm proud of how everyone has kept it on track."
Greener by design
When complete, the refurbishment will cut the building's carbon emissions by 80%, saving 238 tonnes of CO2 every year. The roof and facade have been insulated, gas boilers replaced with air source heat pumps, and solar panels, LED lighting and an intelligent building management system installed.
Sustainability runs through the details too. Rather than being thrown away, 140 chairs and 70 tables previously used in the building have been rehomed at Stretford High School through the University's furniture store, Furniture 4 Reuse.
Outside, the Nature Action Group is helping to shape a wildflower meadow and hedging, with bird, bat and swift boxes and bee posts that will support a research project on solitary bees.
Spaces for the way we work and learn
At the heart of the ground floor is The Exchange, a new social space named by staff and students in a vote, alongside Cosy Campus, a student kitchen for hot and cold food and drinks. The tiered lecture theatre keeps its restored original parquet floor, and the flat teaching rooms have new AV and comfort cooling.
The building will also house CBT clinics and the Child Study Centre, where research and practice meet. Postgraduate researchers will have dedicated rooms on three floors, with lockers and a shared kitchen on every PGR floor, while breakout areas, meeting rooms and pods are spread throughout. New seating, paving and planting at the Dover Street and Brunswick Park entrances will create welcoming outdoor spaces and connect the building with the wider campus.
Shaped by the people who use it
Users have been involved at every stage: a neurodiversity review led to striped timber wall panelling being replaced by a softer geometric design and to flicker-free lighting being specified throughout; postgraduate researchers, tutors and research staff helped plan their spaces in a series of sessions; and colleagues voted on office colours in a sample room.
Facilities to support a range of needs include an accessible shower room on the lower ground floor and two adjacent multi-faith prayer spaces on the ground floor.
The move itself has been planned with inclusion in mind, with staff who have support plans moved around their needs. Building users have been visiting the site since September, and President and Vice-Chancellor Duncan Ivison toured the building in April.
Developed alongside the Integrated Infrastructure Plan (IIP)
The refurbishment reflects several themes raised during the IIP engagement phase.
Making better use of our existing estate: refurbishing rather than replacing the building, restoring original features and applying Faculty space principles, including desk-sharing for researchers, means the space can adapt as needs change.
A low-carbon, liveable campus: the energy upgrades bring the building in line with our zero-carbon commitments, while The Exchange, Cosy Campus, shared kitchens and new outdoor spaces make it a better place to spend the day.
Zochonis demonstrates genuine team effort and working together as 'One University,' Estates & Facilities have worked with the School, Marketing and Communications, and the Nature Action Group. Since July, an Operational Management Group chaired by Estates has been preparing the building to open.
The project also brings to life the foundations of Manchester 2035, our University strategy: social responsibility, equity, diversity and inclusion, and being at home in Manchester.
Zochonis follows the refurbishment of the Grade II listed Rutherford Building, which Geography colleagues moved into in July, which is another example of making better use of our existing estate.
Find out more
The Zochonis Building will be officially launched around Easter 2027. You can share your views on how our campus develops through the IIP SharePoint site.