FRANCIS CRICK INSTITUTE, LONDON
17
© Paul Grundy
building, strategically distributed around the building to promote interaction among the researchers.
“Wherever appropriate, the laboratories were designed to provide a high level of flexibility, from individual casework elements to large reconfigurable zones, to support rapid conversion as teams expand, contract and evolve,” says HOK’s design principal.
Each quadrant of the floor plate provides a large contiguous modular laboratory “neighbourhood” with a linear arrangement locating open shared secondary support on the central spine, with zones of open primary and enclosed dedicated secondary labs on each side. At the edges of the floors are ‘write up’ spaces for researchers, and offices of ‘Principal Investigators,’ with direct access to the perimeter personnel circulation routes, separate from central lab material routes. “This linear arrangement optimises visual permeability,” explains the architect, “with views across the whole width of the building, connecting write-ups and the labs, and filling them with daylight.”
Shedding light
The scheme provides copious natural light to interiors, including a demonstration lab at the entrance and a glazed exhibition
ADF MAY 2018
space on the ground level, with openness and transparency for both external and internal users the key design drivers. “Especially given its central location,” says Malcic, adding, “our vision was to put science on display.” He continues: “We wanted to convey the wonder and excitement of science by making the building as transparent as possible.” Floor to ceiling glazing was utilised in order to provide a visual continuity, and further encourage collaboration and communication. External glazed walls and internal glazed screens allow for daylighting in virtually all areas of the building, with views out to the surrounding cityscape. He continues: “The labs and write-up spaces become illuminated wings of light, with sunlight coming from both exterior walls and the skylit cruciform atria. “Daylighting studies were performed to identify the impact the building would have on its surroundings, as well as the extent of natural daylight entering the buildings.”
Offering further natural light to interiors,
large, cantilevered bay windows and tall glass atria maintain natural light in workspaces and public areas, while reducing the building’s immediate impact at street level.
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
This linear arrangement optimises visual
permeability with views across the whole width of the building, filling spaces with daylight
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
