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RESEARCH FACILITIES


People flow analysis used for Norwich research facility


The Quadram Institute in Norwich is, the facility’s creators say, ‘an exceptional interdisciplinary facility dedicated to food science, gut biology, and health’. Richard Walder, Sector director of Science and Technology (UK) at BuroHappold Engineering, and Nora Claudio Familiar, Project architect at NBBJ, outline the challenges of housing three complex organisations under one roof, and explain how collaboration enabled the project to succeed.


The Quadram Institute is a catalyst for collaboration and innovation. The first of its kind in Europe, the £75 million facility opened its doors in 2018 to provide a space that encourages greater collaboration between three resident organisations – the former Institute of Food Research (now Quadram Institute Bioscience), the University of East Anglia, and the endoscopy department from the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) – while providing state-of-the art facilities for NHS patients. The project was designed by a team led by international science and healthcare design architects, NBBJ, and integrated engineering consultancy, BuroHappold.


Located on the Norwich Research Park, a centre of excellence for research into food and health, the 14,000 m2


building is


home to 300 researchers exploring the relationship between diet and disease, along with 100 clinicians and support staff. It incorporates a new Clinical Research Facility that hosts research studies into a range of health conditions, involving patients and volunteers. The building also welcomes 40,000 patients each year to Europe’s largest colorectal surgery and gastrointestinal endoscopy unit.


To design and develop the Quadram Institute it was essential to understand the use and governance requirements of each


The Quadram Institute, ‘an exceptional interdisciplinary facility dedicated to food science, gut biology, and health’.


organisation from the outset. Hospitals are busy, efficient organisations dealing with large volumes of patients; research laboratories run at a different pace, their competitiveness manifesting in research journals and academic conferences. This contrast has a direct impact on the very distinct spaces needed to facilitate the respective work streams. Putting these groups in such close proximity was challenging, but has proven to lead to novel cross-over and connections.


Large glazed openings provide excellent visual connectivity from office desk to laboratory bench, and between floors across the atrium lightwell.


Optimising the working environment The design team addressed the challenge of developing the best possible work environment for all personnel by regularly meeting key members of the client team. The team worked with over 50 client-side users during design and construction, including researchers, laboratory managers, PhD students, clinicians, nursing staff, and senior managers. This ensured a broad understanding of the requirements for each organisation, together with essential standards and regulations. As well as coping with Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs) and individual requirements for each client,


the team also had to pay careful attention to the vast amount of specialist equipment on site. In addition, the Quadram Institute includes Containment Level 2 and Containment Level 3 laboratories, which have very strict security and operational requirements.


Interactive and consultative The concept design stages were interactive and consultative, and comprised a series of design workshops, meetings, and presentations to users and the wider stakeholder groups, to discuss aesthetic, operational, technical, and security details. This process was essential in identifying common ground, since the three organisations, understandably, did not wish to compromise on the core functions of each space. There was a strong desire for each to retain its own identity within the building, and to work independently, while also seeking opportunities to interact with one another. The intensive briefing captured the key challenges for the design team: creating a welcoming environment for the public and patients, while ensuring that research work would not conflict with


October 2019 Health Estate Journal 59


Quadram Institute ©Nick Gutteridge


Quadram Institute ©Nick Gutteridge


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