A consortium of health, life sciences and construction consultants has launched a “first-of-its-kind”, free-to-use dynamic model and building standards tool that enables decision makers to determine whether an existing or proposed lab building is suitable for the type of scientific work they have planned for the space.
The consortium, which is made up of MedCity, EEDN, Gleeds, Cushman & Wakefield, Gensler, Buro Happold, Hoare Lea, CPC, Mission Street and Ramboll Group, said the ‘Constructing Science’ model set out a baseline for building quality labs and would help the UK property sector speed up delivery of much needed lab space.
According to the consortium, the model enables building owners and investors to “collapse the process of building feasibility studies from months to minutes and provides much needed clarity for the market with clear recommendations for high quality lab space from trusted practitioners in the construction market”.
Ivana Poparic, head of life sciences cluster development at MedCity, said: “This is a significant milestone in accelerating the demand for high-quality lab and R&D space in the capital and beyond. Helping owners and investors facilitate the creative and appropriate re-use of existing buildings will create significant carbon savings while limiting over-provision across buildings.”
Tes Adamou, CEO at consortium partner EEDN, added: “Constructing Science is the next important step in ensuring that the UK becomes a life sciences superpower by bringing together the collective knowledge of the industry on how to construct science buildings, making that accessible to everyone for free and enabling a common language to foster better collaboration.”
