OxCam Research Park
Innovative science and digital research development for a redundant group of buildings, creating renewed purpose and capitalising on its location at the centre of the OxCam arc.
Project Information
- Client Confidential
- Sector Research & Education
- Size 11,050m²
- Location Buckinghamshire
We were invited to propose a new vision and purpose for a redundant 2.7 acre site at the centre of the OxCam arc.
The brief asked us to re-imagine a series of derelict utilitarian buildings to combine innovative research facilities with commercial real estate.
Following collaboration with science and research leaders, we identified potential tenants and created a development with impactful front of house spaces for interaction and collaboration, behind which adaptable research and innovation spaces are housed in the re-purposed buildings with added interventions.
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Researching viable options
Early collaboration with academic and science leaders from Oxford and Cambridge informed our approach towards specific uses and potential tenants.
Profiling the needs of various tenant scales and types allowed us to hone our approach to the character and mix of spaces.
Keen to inhabit the existing ruins, we developed a scheme which fused historical decayed elements with high-tech interventions.
Drawing on the strong orthogonal character of the original buildings, we established purpose from the structural grid and introduced sustainable timber additions as standalone facilities with specific functions.
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Our previous experience of innovation hubs identified the importance of differentiating between front of house branded space with amenity areas for staff and visitors, and the specific requirements of scientific research such as laboratories, data centres and areas for experimentation.
The proposed development is designed to accommodate different occupier splits such as a large anchor tenant or a series of smaller SME’s with separate access points for branding and security.
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A head and tail approach
We established a transparent and social front of house alongside secure private research laboratories with a collegiate environment for staff.
A new enclosure is created at the ‘head’ of the site with a prestigious entrance leading into a triple height covered courtyard.
This front of house space acts as a social hub with café, informal lecture theatre and a cantilevered boardroom under a striking canopied roof.
The ‘tail’ aspect occupies the repurposed structure, organized around a central street connecting the courtyard space with six wings which can be configured as laboratory, experimental, office or meeting spaces.
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The street is designed with in-built areas to gather, encouraging internal communication and collaboration between tenants, or offering a quiet space away from working laboratories.
Between these wings, standalone pods provide specialist structures for specific equipment and experimentation, which can be easily re-purposed according to need.
Internally our approach offsets the decayed brick and concrete structure with a warm timber parquet floor, wall lights, upholstered furniture and integrated planting.
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Credits
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Architects Fathom Architects
