Electric Works, the first part of the Digital Campus being built off Sheaf Street near the rail station, is set to be the first development of its kind in the UK to have a permanent slide for those who work there.

The 30-metre, three-storey installation, made of stainless steel with a transparent cover, is being designed and built by Josef Wiegand of Rasdorf in Germany, the same company that built the slides on display recently at Tate Modern in London.

It will take people from the top of the Electric Works atrium to the ground floor reception area in five to seven seconds.

The building is due to open in the autumn, one of five designed to offer tailor-made accommodation for new and growing companies in the burgeoning creative and digital industries.

Cherry Salt, director at Creative Space Management, the company managing the building, said: “The slide is an inspired piece of engineering that adds fun to the working environment but it also appeals to the people working at Electric Works on a further level.

“Electric Works is the city’s first purpose-built working space for companies in the creative and digital sectors and the slide has caught the imagination of the companies already set to move there and those that are considering moving there.

“They feel that it reflects their approach to work, where the division between work and play is blurred and where the risk, imagination and creativity that characterises their work is going to be reflected in their surroundings.”

Ms Salt added: “Electric Works will be the first office building in the UK to have a permanent slide for the use of those who work there. It will also be available for visitors and for people attending events at Electric Works but it will not be open to the general public.

“Though this installation is for fun and inspiration, we will ensure that the slide is carefully managed at all times. As an interactive installation, the safety of those who use it will be a key priority, but CSM expects the slide to be very popular with people who work here and with their guests.”