Breaking Down Barriers Between Scientific Disciplines
BMJ Architects designed the Discovery Centre for Translational and Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Dundee, creating a major new addition to the College of Life Sciences.
Purpose-Built Spaces for Interdisciplinary Research
The new annexe provides four storeys of laboratories, associated offices and meeting space, including a state-of-the-art Drug Discovery High Throughput Screening Laboratory and the Laboratory for Quantitative Proteomics.
The building also includes an open-plan floor dedicated to interdisciplinary research, bringing together Mathematical Biology, Biophysics, Bioinformatics, Data Analysis and Software Development.
Concept and Strategy
At the heart of the building is an atrium designed to support the client’s aspiration to enable innovation by breaking down barriers between scientific disciplines. Known as the street, this central space supports formal, informal and ad hoc interaction, alongside a networking centre, café, seminar room, offices, meeting rooms and breakout spaces.
BMJ worked closely with the University to develop the accommodation, interior design and art strategy, ensuring the building delivered a dynamic social and scientific interaction zone. The façade incorporates artwork by Elaine Shemilt, perforated into anodised aluminium cladding panels. Entitled The Scales of Life, the artwork reflects the molecular, organellar, cellular and tissue scales of life science research undertaken within the facility.
The project achieved BREEAM Excellent and was highly commended by Dundee Civic Trust.
Explore the Details
“BMJ Architects delivered us a superb high-tech and aesthetically pleasing research building, on-budget, that is enjoyed by its scientist occupants, and by the wider University and City of Dundee communities that access its public spaces and LifeSpace science-art gallery.”
Regius Professor of Life Sciences & Director of The Discovery Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee
