The Francis Crick Institute – rising above the hoardings

Continuing the research excellence theme and news of the emerging Knowledge Quarter, yesterday Betsy Anagnostelis and I visited the Francis Crick Institute currently under construction behind the British Library. The Institute will be a world-leading centre of biomedical research and innovation and UCL is one of its six partner organisations.

From the giddy heights of the 5th floor looking over the full expanse of the atrium that runs along its length, to the sub-basements we last saw at the excavation stage, its a hive of activity with a contractor workforce of 900+ helping to achieve completion by autumn 2015. An iridescent multi-storey glass wall will greet passengers arriving at St Pancras, there is a sizeable public engagement space and an area designated for outreach work with schools. Plans for the Institute’s library and knowledge service are under development.

There is more information, images and details about the architectural design on the Institute’s website.