The new Cancer Research Building is used primarily by Cancer Research UK scientists carrying out research of an international standard. The building also acts as the focus for collaboration with other organisations, the key partner in this being the University of Edinburgh.
The building occupies a site at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, adjacent to the existing MRC building. The brief and schedule of accommodation was demanding for the very tight constraints of the site, and necessitated replanning of roadways and infrastructure to permit the area of the site and thus building to be maximised.
Accommodation is planned over four floors and a plant room level. It includes specialist and general research laboratories, together with support facilities such as wash up space. Laboratories are designed as open plan and flexible spaces where function permits, maximising interaction amongst scientists and optimising space needs. Service riser positions and floor to floor heights have been determined to provide both operational flexibility and to facilitate future reorganisation.
The layouts are designed to minimise service runs, and thus both capital and in use costs. Write up spaces are located outside the laboratory areas to maximise the use of serviced floor space for laboratory functions, and also to provide a more comfortable environment in which scientists can carry out desk work. Offices, meeting rooms, and a presentation/lecture theatre are also provided.