AstraZeneca Discovery Centre
- Location
- Cambridge, UK
- Client
- AstraZeneca
- Expertise
- Architecture
- Acoustics
- Building Services Engineering
- Civil & Structural Engineering
- Design Management
- Digital Design
- Interior Design
- Landscape Architecture
- Lighting
- Sustainability
- Town Planning
- Completion
- 2023
- Cost
- £1bn
A central hub of labs forms the focal point for the centre, to encourage collaborative working across the organisation and with partners within the Cambridge Life Sciences cluster through an open design and campus environment.
As the lead consultant for AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre (DISC), a state-of-the-art global R&D facility. We were responsible for the executive architecture, combined engineering, landscape, interiors, acoustics and specialist lighting services and for delivering concept architect Herzog & de Meuron’s vision.
The overarching aim was to provide a new office headquarters and laboratory complex for 2,000 employees who will be located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. A central hub of labs forms the focal point for the centre, to encourage collaborative working across the organisation and with partners within the Cambridge Life Sciences cluster through an open design and campus environment.
The design has achieved BREEAM Excellent status and features laboratories that represent best practice in low energy design. The site has one of the largest ground source heat pumps in Europe and green roofs are installed across the majority of buildings. A separate energy centre was built to provide sustainable power and provide a secure data centre facility for AstraZeneca’s specific scientific tasks.
The new facility supports AstraZeneca’s drive for scientific leadership by investing in Cambridge, one of the world’s pre-eminent biosciences hotspots.
Our Planning team played a pivotal role in securing planning permission for the AstraZeneca Discovery Centre, ensuring the project successfully adapted to evolving needs throughout its development. Working in close collaboration with the design team, we provided essential support to mitigate planning-related risks and enhance the quality of placemaking. This integrated approach enabled us to align design aspirations with planning requirements seamlessly. We engaged proactively with South Cambridgeshire Council, holding regular pre-application meetings to build consensus and ensure the project progressed efficiently. Our team also offered strategic advice for negotiations with the Council, helping to address key planning considerations. Acting as trusted advisors, we guided the project through planning requirements, including outline applications and Reserved Matters submissions, and Astrazeneca Global R&D and UK HQ facilitated meaningful stakeholder and community consultations to secure broader support. Our meticulous approach to documentation saw the delivery of 45 separate planning documents aligned with the client’s programme. We also coordinated and collated responses to the Council’s enquiries, ensuring the submission process was robust and efficient. Planning permission for the AZ Discovery Centre was secured in 2015, with our team continuing to provide support for amendments required to address design and construction changes.