COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE
Some activities are task-oriented and need to be in a task-specific location, such as labs. However, light, open spaces still support a culture of collaboration.
Collaborative opportunities In a translational research building, opportunities for collaboration, interaction and engagement must take the lead, prompting the design team to view the task as a network of circulation routes that can be used tactically to create ‘collision spaces’. This involves consideration of the locations where the building’s occupiers will naturally come into contact with others – such as cafés, break out spaces, lifts and stairs and toilets – and the modelling of likely circulation routes from task orientated locations to these spaces. This modelling is part of an iterative
design process that takes a draft building layout and studies movement patterns. For example, at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, the number of link bridges to enable access to the café in the original design was halved and the lift core was moved to direct the flow of traffic from different teams to combined circulation routes. Materiality was also used to reinforce the connection between different teams and disciplines. Internal glazed walls and doors enable visual connectivity, which is essential for forging relationships and encouraging engagement between research and clinical colleagues. Encouraging a sense of familiarity and community is a critical design principle for translational research environments. The traditional challenges associated
with delivering increased collaboration and cohesion not only apply to research and clinical disciplines, but also to individual disciplines and job functions within those two categories. The design strategy must also look for ways to implement the more agile use of space and enhanced interaction while respecting the need for segregation of some activities. Once again, the influence of circulation routes is critical, connecting locations and practitioners both vertically and on the same level.
IFHE DIGEST 2019
At the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, the number of link bridges was halved and the lift core was moved to direct the flow of traffic to combined circulation routes.
For example, many research
environments have clean zones where researchers must remove lab coats and follow sanitisation procedures before leaving the lab. This can discourage face- to-face interaction with colleagues in other areas of the building if it means exiting the lab and re-entering a lab environment and then repeating the process when returning to their own workstation. This challenge was addressed at
Manchester Institute of Biotechnology by creating a vertical circulation route within the lab environment. This two storey void not only provides a staircase linking lab- based researchers across two levels, it also provides a collision space for planned
and accidental interaction, with furniture designed to enable colleagues to talk and extend their interaction. Indeed, furniture is another critical
element to achieving interdisciplinary engagement, complementing circulation and collision space strategies by enabling extended interaction and knowledge sharing. For example, the choice of furniture in lobbies, break out spaces and cafés must allow for discreet informal meetings where colleagues can discuss research, treatment and patient outcomes with some degree of confidentiality. They must also be able to share information readily, facilitated by booth seating that incorporates screens where they can easily connect a laptop or a UBS drive, with Wi-Fi to enable web searches and the sharing of files saved in the cloud. Interior design considerations should also include environments where research and clinical partners can share and develop ideas. The Salk Institution for Biological Sciences in San Diego, which is considered to be the gold standard for discovery and science environments, introduced the ability to work on ideas on the walls when it was designed in the 1960s, with chalk stored in the crevices of its slate walls for use exploring ideas on the internal fabric of the building. Technology has moved on since then, but white boards in key areas such as cafés and break out spaces can encourage a collaborative process that can be stored, shared and developed later.
Permeability of internal structures ensures increased visibility of the scientific elements involved in developing treatments.
Patient interaction It is vital that a design strategy also incorporates patient engagement with both researchers and clinicians as a pivotal element in connecting the two disciplines. After all, the work of both researcher and clinician is focused on improved treatment journeys, reducing recovery times and promoting more positive outcomes for patients. The greater transparency of research
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