A Collaborative Setting for Translational Medicine Research
BMJ Architects designed the award-winning Mechanochemical Cell Biology Building at the University of Warwick, creating a distinctive research facility and landmark gateway to the campus.
Creating a Platform for Collaborative Discovery
Delivered over two phases, the building provides highly stable and robustly engineered translational medicine research laboratories for cell engineering. Its attractive external landscape and internal spaces are carefully balanced with the technical performance required for specialist scientific research.
BMJ worked closely with the client and users to create a world-class research setting that encourages collaboration and supports regional, national and international partnerships across industry and academia. The building includes a specialist optical core technology platform and clean rooms that can be shared with collaborators globally when not in use for internal research.
Concept and Strategy
The design was also optimised to meet accelerated expenditure drawdown requirements linked to funder deadlines, supporting the client’s programme and financial objectives.
A holistic fabric-first sustainability strategy helped the project achieve BREEAM Excellent and an EPC A rating. The façade design responds to orientation through multiple environmental layers, including solar control glass, brightly coloured vents for night purge cooling, and brise soleil that shift from horizontal on the south elevation to vertical on the west.
Significant carbon savings were achieved through BMJ’s strategic review of the estate, which identified the opportunity to use existing complementary accommodation and circulation in adjacent facilities by developing the building as an extension.
Explore the Details
“The building is receiving huge attention and admiration from all of the top research institutes around the world, and as such is a huge draw for the very best researchers.”
Head of Division, Warwick Medical School
