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Biophilic design in a modern research lab

One of the largest biotechnology research centres in Australia, the Bio 21 Nancy Millis Building is a healthy workplace designed to encourage employee collaboration.

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One of the largest biotechnology research centres in Australia, the Bio 21 Nancy Millis Building is a healthy workplace designed to encourage employee collaboration.

The building comprises laboratories, offices and collaborative spaces for research, training and industry engagement. It occupies a tight site, surrounded by a number of existing buildings.

In response to its context, the architects designed a structure firmly embedded in a sequence of landscaped external courtyards with a tapering brick base that steps upwards, uncurling to a two-storey height.

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Connection to the natural environment is an important element of the building’s design.

“Our overall concept emphasises the benefits of a connection with nature to wellbeing by clearly articulating a design that integrates natural light, airflow, greenery and views to the outdoors,” says DesignInc director Christon Batey-Smith.

“It was also important this connection to nature not be static, so there’s variety in the building’s volumes and spaces, all of which contribute to a sense of discovery that’s integral to any type of research centre.”

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Internally, the entry leads to the primary circulation which curves upwards towards a multi-level collaboration forum. This generous volume expresses key elements of biophilic design in featuring plenty of natural light, good airflow, views to the outdoors and a series of timber planter boxes.

The forum is the building’s focal point, intended to support the wellbeing of the Institute’s researchers and other end users by giving them a collaboration-focused place to work outside of the lab. It offers meeting rooms, breakout spaces, terraces and stepped seating before ascending to the south, where a range of highly controlled laboratories and offices provide flexible areas for research and specialist and general support spaces.

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“It’s about this idea of wellbeing and improving outcomes through the creation of a series of spaces where researchers can collaborate,” says Batey-Smith.

“We want the researchers to have a choice of settings in which to work and we want to improve their experience outside of the lab too.”

The facility has achieved a targeted education 5 Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.

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DesignInc
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    Project Summary
    LocationParkville, VIC
    Year2018
    StatusComplete
    Credits
    ArchitectDesignInc
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