design solutions


from face-to-face interaction with colleagues if it means exiting the lab and re-entering a lab environment and then repeating the process when returning to their own work station. At MIB we addressed this challenge in


a very simple way 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 without the need to exit the lab, it also provides a collision space for planned and accidental engagement, with furniture designed to enable colleagues to talk and extend their interaction. Indeed, furniture is another critical


element to achieving interdisciplinary engagement. For example, the choice of furniture in lobbies, break out spaces and cafes must allow for discreet informal meetings. Researchers 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 sharing of files saved in the cloud. Interior design considerations should


within the building design: the non- addressable spaces that are not allocated to task-specific activities and the circulation areas used to connect both addressable and non-addressable locations. Opportunities for collaboration,


interaction and engagement must lead the architectural process, prompting designs based on a network of circulation routes that can be used tactically to create “collision spaces”. This involves a consideration of the locations where the building’s occupiers will naturally come into contact with others – cafes, break out spaces, lifts and stairs, toilets etc. – and 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 so that the likelihood of silo-based, role- specific circulation routes can be engineered out of the building. For example, at the MIB in Manchester, the number of link bridges originally incorporated in the design to enable access to the café was halved and the lift core was moved to direct the flow of traffic to combined circulation routes. At the MIB, as in all best practice


designs for translational research facilities, materiality was also used to reinforce the connection between different teams and disciplines. The use of internal glazed walls and doors to enable visual connectivity is essential in forging relationships and encouraging engagement between research and


24 highereducationestates


clinical colleagues because individuals are much more likely to communicate with people they know by sight. Encouraging a sense of familiarity and community is, therefore, a critical design principle for translational research environment. The traditional challenges associated


with delivering increased collaboration and cohesion not only apply to research/ clinical disciplines but also to individual research disciplines and job functions. The design strategy must look for ways to implement more agile use of space and enhanced interaction while respecting the need for segregation of some activities. Once again, considering how circulation routes can be used to connect locations and practitioners is essential, both vertically and on the same level. For example, many research


environments have clean zones where researchers must remove lab coats and follow sanitisation procedures when going outside the lab. This can discourage them


also include environments where research and clinical partners can share and develop ideas. The Salk Institution for Biological Sciences in San Diego - considered to be the gold standard for discovery and science environments - introduced the ability to physically work on ideas on the walls when it was designed in the 1960s, with chalk stored in the crevices of its slate walls. Technology has moved on since then; now interactive white boards in key areas such as cafes and break out spaces can encourage this collaborative process enabling interactions to be stored, shared and developed late. The higher education and healthcare


sectors are already committed to working together to drive relevant and outcome- focused research. Innovative architecture has a significant role to play in delivering environments where such translational research can thrive.


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