AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre (DISC) Receives RIBA National and RIBA East Awards

CAMBRIDGE, UK – We are proud to share that our biomedical research building for AstraZeneca — The Discovery Centre (DISC) — has received a RIBA National Award, after having already received the RIBA East Award earlier this year. Located in Cambridge, the DISC is a hub for research and development in Cambridge, working with institutions and companies from the education, healthcare, and science sectors. The jury noted:

“Echoing the shape of its site, the scheme adopts a curved triangular plan, helping to create a stronger street presence than is typically found in science parks. In the centre, serviced by a well-positioned canteen, is a generously proportioned, publicly accessible courtyard – a reference to Cambridge college quadrangles. Here, on warm days, the facility’s staff can choose a place to sit, depending on the level of sun or shade required. […] One would forgive the design team if they concentrated on the science alone, yet there is more than a nod to placemaking here. The building’s shape forms a generous triangular interface between it and the adjacent hospitals the Royal Papworth and Addenbrooke’s – that it ultimately serves.”

Read the full citation here.