Sainsbury Wellcome Centre
London, England
- LEAF Awards: Overall Winner (2016)
- LEAF Awards: Best Façade Design and Engineering: Winner (2016)
- BCI Awards: Major Building Project of the Year (over £50m): Winner (2016)
- RICS Awards (London): Project of the Year: Winner (2017)
- RICS Awards (London): Design Through Innovation: Winner (2017)
- German Design Award: Excellent Communications Design - Architecture: Winner (2018)
- Premio Internazionale Ischia di Architettura Innovation Prize (2020)
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Opened in 2016, the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre is the headquarters of the neuroscience division of University College London. It brings together scientists to study how brain circuits process information. The award-winning seven-storey building was designed by the award-winning firm of architects Ian Ritchie Architects. It was built in close collaboration with world-leading neuroscientists and contains state-of-the-art research laboratories and the latest scientific equipment. The contract value was around 90 million euros. The most striking feature is the rhythmically curved façade made of translucent, low-iron LINIT®EcoGlass ‘solar’, whose waveform gives the building its distinctive identity. The elegant building envelope has a high thermal output and provides a sense of well-being in the approximately 14,000 square metres of interior space thanks to its diffuse natural light. In addition, the light transmission reduces lighting costs to a minimum. At dusk, the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre glows in a soft shade of white, enhancing the quality of light on the adjacent road. The building received a BREEAM rating of ‘excellent’ in terms of energy efficiency, spatial efficiency and sustainability.
