Architect：Herzog & de Meuron abell nepp BDP

Location：136 Hills Rd, Cambridge CB2 8PA, UK

Project Year：2021

Category：Offices

Stories By：Herzog & de Meuron AstraZeneca Byrne Bros

AstraZeneca is establishing a new global research and development facility, named The Discovery Centre (DISC) in Cambridge, UK, on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC). As part of the wider development known as the Cambridge Southern Fringe Area, CBC is envisioned as a future leading centre for biomedical research and development with institutions and companies from the education, health care, science and research sectors.

Hufton + Crow

The DISC is located in the middle of the CBC; This central location reflects AstraZeneca’s ambition to be a key point of exchange and collaboration in the CBC, building on its many existing collaborations with members of the Cambridge Life Science community including the University of Cambridge, the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK. The architecture supports this drive and makes it visible with a porous building that is accessible from three different sides.

Hufton + Crow

The new building is a triangular glass disc with rounded edges that loosely follows the shape of the site; it is defined by a saw-tooth roof that runs East to West to provide optimal natural light inside the building. The saw-tooth roof carries on through to the facade creating a tighter and larger vertical zig-zag geometry. The hovering glass disc with saw-tooth roof and stepped facade gives the building its characteristic appearance.

David Porter

The DISC sits on six rectangular glass boxes grouped in three pairs. They form an open courtyard, which in combination with the low-rise building structure, references the historical colleges in central Cambridge. The courtyard is the central point of the site, a meeting point, openly accessible from three different sides.