Laboratory-Intensive Campus Developments in Europe
Second Nature: Green Programs, Green Places, and the Landscape of Science
Stevens Williams, Flad Architects
The earliest scientific landscapes—the botanical collections—sought to idealize the natural world, signifying intellectual achievement through geometric rigor. With the development of an artistic connection of the environment, buildings and their surrounding landscapes came to be symbolized by natural character in design. The "Science Park"—in concept, a serene and contemplative setting for discovery, represented by free-standing buildings in a garden-like setting—clearly continues this legacy. The fact remains that these are places with high demands for productivity and intense need to consume resources.
We are meeting near the site of what is arguably the world's first science park and, demonstrably, the greatest lasting influence on the form of these places. This is not, however, a universal model or a paradigm for sustainable development. We have learned the value of incremental progress in reducing energy consumption in places for research and discovery. We have also come to understand the need to look more speculatively at these issues to inspire greater results. Fulfilling the true promise of sustainability, the active preservation and protection of the environment can give substance to the science and meaning to the park. This discussion describes new systems of inquiry, emerging technologies, and the representation of science.
A Campus of Knowledge and Innovation
Reto Naef, Novartis Pharmaceuticals
The new Novartis campus should offer employees and visitors an environment for intensive levels of communication and work, which is ultra-modern, very functional, and aesthetically pleasing. Today and in the future, the value creation in pharmaceuticals originates much more from research and development than from low-cost manufacturing. Science, the creation of knowledge and know-how to be shared among associates, requires an adaptation of the work environment to one that facilitates communication and collaboration.
With the campus project, Novartis continues its strong track record in developing high-performance workplaces regarding productivity and innovation by developing new multi-space work environments. This is a long-term project that includes not only workplace development, architecture, and landscaping but also functional, traffic-planning, and cultural considerations. A master plan has been developed that sets the overall structure and defines the basic framework for the different phases of the implementation. The aspiration is to create a sustainable and flexible framework for future management teams.
The United Kingdom's Health Protection Agency Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response
Peter Jackson, Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response
The United Kingdom (UK) Health Protection Agency (HPA) was set up in 2003 by the UK Government to be prepared for and able to respond to the health challenges of existing and emerging diseases and the potential risks from the deliberate release of dangerous pathogens, chemicals, or radiation. The biggest threats to public health are new and emerging diseases that may be imported into the UK by natural or intentional (bioterrorism) routes. New diseases emerge at the rate of approximately one per year and there has been an increase in the number of re-emerging diseases that threaten human health. To prevent and deal with such threats to public health, world-class translational research facilities are needed that can:
- Monitor, evaluate, and respond to healthcare threats.
- Provide safe containment of the most dangerous organisms so that they can be studied.
- Identify solutions to the threats through research.
- Evaluate these solutions.
- Develop healthcare interventions to a stage where they can be evaluated in humans.
The HPA's Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response (CEPR) at Porton Down, Wiltshire, uniquely has the ability to carry out such translational research, but its facilities are over 55 years old and are struggling to remain compliant with increasingly stringent regulatory, safety, and environmental standards and targets. The HPA has therefore decided to progress a re-development program of the Porton Down site to provide world-class translational research facilities on HPA-owned land adjacent to its current site.
The HPA redevelopment of Porton Down will be a major program costing in excess of $600 million, and the opportunity will be taken to look at changing the way the HPA and CEPR carries out its activities at Porton Down. A purpose-built campus needs to be developed that will accelerate the development of healthcare interventions and provide more flexible facilities to enable a wider range of products and interventions to be developed whilst reducing environmental impact and providing sustainability in line with UK Government requirements and guidelines.
This presentation will show how the HPA is approaching the tasks of developing a world class biotechnology campus and developing its design brief and change management models to achieve strategic objectives. The presentation will show the benefits of using the UK's Office of Government Commerce (OGC)-developed management tool, "Managing Successful Programmes," to develop a coherent strategy and plan for programmes whose objectives are initially unclear and vague. It will also discuss how the strategy and plan are being managed and implemented to meet the organizations future vision.
Campus-Berlin Buch—77 Years of Research in the North of Berlin
Ralf Streckwall, The Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin-Buch Helmoltz Association of National Research Centers
Berlin-Buch has been home to a scientific campus since the early 20th century with the establishment of a clinical center that grew to hold over 5000 beds. The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) was established in 1992 with a mission to carry out basic research related to cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and neurodegenerative conditions and to translate these findings into medical and industrial applications. In 1995 the MDC founded a company called the BBB Management GmbH Campus Berlin-Buch to develop and run a biotechnology and business development park in Berlin-Buch. To date, two Institutes for Experimental Research, one University Hospital for Clinical Research, and approximately 30 biotech enterprises with more than 2,000 employees are situated on the Berlin-Buch Campus.
Many aspects of campus planning stem from our vision of unifying the different cultures of basic and clinical research. The Master plan for the campus was made in two steps. The first step emphasized the south part of the campus, establishing institutes and firms. The second step emphasizes the north part of the campus, where a new Experimental and Clinical Research Center will be built by 2011. The first element, an MRI Facility, will be finished in late 2008. The Master Plan takes into account existing laboratories built over a period of more than 60 years, each designed in the taste of its time. Rather than creating a strict homogeneous structure, the plan emphasizes heterogeneity.
The Berlin-Buch campus has several unique features: institutes are clustered in an insular space somewhat like an American university campus, separate from the village. Between the institutes are stands of trees and pathways, with a guesthouse, cafeteria, and other infrastructures. A main challenge for planning on the campus has been the need to stimulate interactions between the distinct scientific cultures of basic and clinical research, and develop infrastructures which will encourage common projects and "translational research." Common infrastructures include the Medical Genomics Center and a new Experimental and Clinical Research Center. More structures, such as an Institute for Systems Biology, are planned. They will have to take into account rapid changes that are making science increasingly interdisciplinary, requiring new types of technology, carried out by groups with different work styles and habits.
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