FM FEATURE
FRANCIS CRICK INSTITUTE
RICHARD BYATT
RESEARCH ENGINE
The new Francis Crick Institute will test the power of design to drive collaboration and innovation, says Richard Byatt
J
ust north of the British Library something very big has landed. Occupying a whole city block, the steel, glass and terracotta-clad building is being fitted out, ready to open fully in spring 2016. At the heart of a “medical knowledge quarter” that includes the Wellcome Trust, the Royal College of Physicians and University College Hospital, the new Francis Crick Institute (named after the scientist who, along with James Watson and Maurice Wilkins, discovered the structure of DNA) is a unique partnership between the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust, UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and King’s College London. The Crick will be a world-class biomedical research centre for human disease. David Cameron described it as “one of the most significant developments in UK biomedical science for a generation” and Sir Paul Nurse, president of the Royal Society and chief executive and director of the Francis Crick Institute, has said: “If we get this right we’re 16 | 24 APRIL 2014 | FM WORLD
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The Crick Institute will be the biggest centre for biomedical research in Europe
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16/04/2014 14:09