The UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI) (now known as the Francis Crick Institute) was established in response to the need for an organization dedicated to improving healthcare in Great Britain. Its purpose was to provide critical research in a central location, enjoying close proximity to London’s leading hospitals. Contributors to the center included the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and the London Research Institute (LRI). The timeline below explains the activities leading to its opening.
December 2007: Stakeholders vote to construct the UKCMRI on a 3.6-acre site in Central London near The British Library and three train stations.
August 2008: HOK architects are hired to design the new building.
December 2009: The UKCMRI introduces the first design review along with a supporting research strategy intended to address four needs: 1) research excellence, 2) training and developing future scientific leaders, 3) participating in British biomedical research and 4) promoting innovation and translation.
March 2010: The U.K. government announces a £250 million investment to build the UKCMRI.
June 2010: The UKCMRI proposes an institute capable of tackling the underlying causes of the most challenging health problems.
July 2010: Sir Paul Nurse is appointed UKCMRIÕs first director and chief executive.
September 2010: The UKCMRI applies for a building permit from the Camden Council.
May 2011: UKCMRI is renamed the Francis Crick Institute (FCI). June 2011: Construction of the new building begins.
The new Francis Crick laboratory (Figures 1–3) is immense by any measure. It is 560 feet long and has almost 1 million ft2 of floor space; its 1553 rooms are twice the number found in Buckingham Palace. Eight of the building’s 12 floors are above ground, so its height is comparable to surrounding buildings, a design that required the excavation and removal of 185,000 m3 of soil. A forest of piles under the foundation extend an additional 52 feet into the ground and anchor the structure. To ensure that it is water-tight, the basement was constructed using a continuous pore distribution of 65,000 m3 of concrete and it is reinforced with 9000 tons of steel. Electrical power is distributed via more than 100 miles of cables feeding 17,000 lights and four kilometers of lab benches. The building is powered by a 15-mW external power station supported by 7.5-mW emergency diesel electric generators. These generators are backed with 300,000 liters of fuel on site, sufficient to power the chillers, refrigerators and data farm for several days in case of electrical grid failure.
Figure 1 – Francis Crick Institute (images courtesy of Francis Crick Institute).
Figure 2
Figure 3The lab environment (temperature, light, humidity and air pressure) is monitored continuously with 25,000 sensors. Four independent 4000-kW chillers supply temperature control for the data center and cold rooms. The data center is only 1 mW, which is probably sufficient since the cloud is proving to be as useful and reliable as visionaries had forecast.
June 2013: A ceremony commemorates completion of the Crick lab and lists five priorities: 1) to pursue discovery without boundaries, 2) to create future science leaders, 3) to collaborate creatively to advance U.K. science and innovation, 4) to accelerate translation for health and wealth and 5) to engage and inspire the public.
August 2016: The first scientists move in.
November 2016: The FCI officially opens.
The FCI is clearly a long overdue commitment to science. With its exit from the European Union, it will be important for Britain to continue funding science. It is hoped that additional research centers will be created in other locations in the U.K. to foster scientific innovation and excellence.
Robert L. Stevenson, Ph.D., is Editor Emeritus, American Laboratory/Labcompare; e-mail: [email protected]