Iconic Building Project: Mace's AstraZeneca Discovery Centre
AstraZeneca's Discovery Centre is a word-leading R&D facility, providing a new HQ and laboratory complex for 2,000 employees who will be located on the Cambridge, UK, Biomedical Campus.
The company says it "helps bring the brightest scientific minds together to foster collaboration and interaction, enabling us to make the greatest and swiftest impact on disease".
It was designed to enable scientists to discover new medicines more efficiently and deliver them more effectively, harnessing the power of data and artificial intelligence, digital technologies and novel precision medicine approaches.
It was built by the Mace Group, the global programme and project delivery consultant and construction expert. With more than 8,000 employees worldwide, Mace delivers some of the world's most complex programmes and projects, of which AstraZeneca's new Discovery Centre is one.
Here we take a look at how the project came together, thanks to a close collaborative relationship between Mace and AstraZeneca.
Mace Operations Director John Kiuthi was closely involved in the project. He says: "You can never forget it's not a normal building you're building. It's the future of science. For me, there's nothing more rewarding than thinking sometime in my future I will see AstraZeneca's new discoveries, and know we contributed to that facility."
He adds: "It's about having a transparent and collaborative approach. That way it doesn't matter what challenges you face, because you can come through anything."
Mace & AstraZeneca collaborate for science sake
Picking up the theme of collaboration, Richard Surma, Operational Transition Lead at AstraZeneca says: "It was a genuine collaboration because everyone embraced any and all opportunities to engage. We pushed into conversations openly and authentically. We recognised that in some cases there would be risks, challenges and costs but that the common objective was that this was about advancing science. After that, things pale into insignificance and you know you just have to get on with it and do the right thing."
He adds: "It's wonderful to see people in the building with smiles on their faces, and the feedback has been brilliant. I don't feel like it's my home. I feel like it's their home. And that's cool because that's what it was for."
Rob Lemming, Mace MD of Public Sector & Life Sciences, says science was "activated" at the site within six days of completion. He adds: "With an asset of this magnitude, that time span tends to be at least 12 months. It's a game changer for the industry. Labs of this magnitude are rarely built. Half a million square foot laboratory space in one space is unique."
Mace helps AstraZeneca foster scientific breakthroughs
Meanwhile, Andy Smith, Executive Director of AstraZeneca, says: "There's usually very distinct teams between the project and the final end-users or scientists. What we were able to do is work with those scientists, show them their facility early, and make changes to enable it to be ready and fit for purpose. It's what I define as 'talent liaison' – working with scientists to ensure that we delivered a facility to the standard they require.
"The backend of this project has really been about how people have interacted with us as a company. Seeing the way they enjoy the building, and how they are interacting in the building, is the reason I do the job."
