The Anne McLaren Building.

Enabling modern pioneering research.

The Anne McLaren Building is an exciting new biomedical research facility created for the University of Cambridge. Located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus – the largest centre of medical research and health science in Europe – it joins big names such as AstraZeneca, Cancer Research UK, The Stem Cell Institute, and Abcam.

Collaborative R&D

The University continues to pioneer a wide range of modern medicines, vaccines and surgical techniques. Built to expand this capability, teams of scientists will be conducting research into how certain diseases occur and will lead the global effort in the development of treatments to conditions such as cancer, dementia and diabetes.
Completing efficient and accurate research requires a building with the highest level of animal and staff welfare at its core which is reflected in an innovative and robust approach to the building’s engineering services.

Our role as Compliance Managers

The type of work being undertaken required laboratory and workspace areas that would promote cross-collaboration, alongside the more complex environments such as a Barrier Secure Unit, Containment Level 3 Suites, a Germ Free Lab, and Irradiator. Each lab floor is serviced by an interstitial plantroom on the floor above, which delivers the variety  of services required for each space.

Working as compliance managers, our role included close collaboration with the University of Cambridge and representatives of the building user group to ensure that the MEP installations were designed, installed and commissioned in accordance with the contractual requirements, including the university’s own design standards.

Adapting in crisis

In response to the recent pandemic, we helped deliver a rapid transformation by turning one floor of the building into a large-scale testing facility, capable of delivering up to 30,000 tests per day. This was paired with a separate temporary welfare facility, providing a safe space for those conducting this vital work.

With an ambitious, 1-week deadline, we worked efficiently and effectively with the wider team to adapt the space. The energy and determination to succeed was shared by everyone. Through continuous dialogue and responsiveness, we were able to condense normal review and commenting periods to a matter of hours (or even minutes!) and meet the deadline. Now this site is contributing to the nationwide effort of investigating and containing the spread of the virus.