Centre for Systems Biology in University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

July 05, 2010 Category: Education, Public Buildings

The Centre for Systems Biology,located in University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Designed by Holmes, the 3-storey Waddington Building, provides 1,600 sq m of laboratory, office and ancillary spaces.

Natural light is injected through the inclusion of floor to ceiling windows which give views onto landscaped gardens. The building has been designed as extremely energy-efficient being highly-insulated with construction detailing to minimise air permeability and thermal bridging, using low energy lighting to supplement the natural light via integration of lighting control software, connecting to the campus combined heat and power (CHP) system.

There are two distinct zones located on either side of a central circulation spine – laboratories on one side and offices on the other. A key element of the brief was the interface with the Rutherford building, nurturing and supporting communication between the two facilities. Staff are provided opportunities to meet and chat informally at both specially conceived ‘play spaces’ and informal ‘eddy’ points on the circulation routes.

Externally, the building exudes a quiet confidence through appropriate scale and massing and a simple grid fenestration which sits comfortably alongside the existing Rutherford Building.

The Waddington building was commissioned by the University of Edinburgh in 2006 and represents the first phase of a possible two-phase building programme by the School of Biological Sciences. Holmes was appointed after its successful completion of the redevelopment and refurbishment of the adjacent Daniel Rutherford building.

Centre for Systems Biology Designed by Holmes