The building was commissioned in Autumn 2000, and designed by the architect Will Alsop. Construction began in November 2003, with AMEC as the main contractor, and was completed in March 2005, at a cost of £45 million. It was officially opened in October 2005 by The Princess Royal. Construction on a £2 million extension in the form of a Neuron Pod began in April 2018 and was completed in March 2019. This extension, also designed by Alsop, was one of his last works, as he died one month after construction began.
Design
The building consists of two glass-clad and steel-framed pavilions, separated by a central yard, and connected to each other by a multi-coloured glass walkway. The glass cladding of the pavilions includes some coloured panels designed by the artist Bruce McLean, depicting images inspired by molecular science. The walkway also provides access to the Neuron Pod, a free standing steel structure located at the northern end of the central yard. The pod is modelled on a nerve cell, and covered with hundred of plastic filaments, designed to look like hairs. These filaments are illuminated by optical fibres powered by projectors inside the pod. The larger, eastern pavilion contains a large, open void, allowing light natural light to reach the open-plan research laboratories located on the lower ground floor. Four, smaller, multipurpose pods of various shapes and sizes are suspended above this void. The smaller, narrower western pavilion houses the electrical and mechanical machinery required to power the building, hidden behind a zinc cladding system. The building was awarded the 2006 RIBA award and the 2006 Civic Trust Award.
Facilities
The eastern pavilion contains the main research facilities, including the underground laboratories, as well as office spaces and study areas. The western pavilion contains the main entrance, a waiting area, a café, additional research facilities and a 400-seat lecture theatre. The Neuron Pod located in between the two pavilions is home to the Centre of the Cell, a science education centre specifically aimed at children. The centre was opened by Blue Peter presenter Helen Skeltonin September 2009 and was initially located in one of the smaller pods within the main research building, but was relocated upon completion of the Neuron Pod in 2019. It is the first science education centre in the world to be located within biomedical research laboratories, and is aimed at getting children from the local area interested in science and research.
