We’ve been working in Cambridge on a huge variety of wayfinding projects since 2010, both in the city centre and for the University of Cambridge. Our latest is devising an internal wayfinding system for one of the university’s newest buildings: the Ray Dolby Centre, which will be the centrepiece of the new Cavendish Laboratory.
The university’s physics department, known as the Cavendish Laboratory, is steeped in history. From discovering DNA, the splitting of the atom, and the discoveries of the electron and electromagnetism, it has been at the forefront of scientific advancements for 150 years.
It has already outgrown its premises once, relocating in 1974 from the town to a more spacious site in West Cambridge – potentially explosive experiments are not something that should ideally be done in a tight space!
Now it has outgrown this facility, and the latest, purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility fit for the 21st century is built and due to open mid-2025.
We have been providing site-wide wayfinding advice on WestCambridge site since 2021, and it’s exciting to now be working with architect Jestico+ Whiles on this unique project.
This Excellent BREEAM rated building is a real feat of engineering. Unique scientific experiments require unique design solutions.Strict vibration criteria for the use of some laser experiments, for example, means the building foundations incorporate springs to cut out vibrations. In many of these spaces there’s no natural light, so one of the architect’s challenges has been to create a pleasant environment where people want to come to work.
The building has a public access area (housing lecture theatres, auditoriums and a café etc) and a restricted access area – where the science really happens. The building also incorporates a long movement corridor that measures nearly two football pitches in length.
This project is significant in scale for more reasons than one. Beyond the signs that will be needed to ease internal wayfinding, the size of the building itself is considerable as is the number of complex and varied uses it houses. Getting to grips with the different labs, their functions and the precise terminology required has been quite a puzzle to work out. To reduce the number of signs required and to build understanding of the building’s layout we are developing a system that uses simple floorplan diagrams to illustrate the routes to key spaces.
Guy Warren, Design Director
We will provide a wayfinding layer over the architecture without being too intrusive – it really is a beautiful building – and making sure the legibility works. Our challenge is how to manage a complex layout and limited natural light. We’re devising an information hierarchy identifying key spaces that people need to find their way to, with different layers beyond that.
And we’re working with the materiality of the building which incorporates steel, concrete, timber and colour coding for the five wings to aid orientation. We’ll be designing floorplan diagrams for the walls, with birch ply industrial-style signs elsewhere.
The Cavendish Laboratory says of its work:
“Our goal is to discover what nature is capable of, to be where the boundaries of human knowledge are pushed and reshaped.”
Undoubtedly, the discoveries that have come out of the Cavendish have changed our world. We can only imagine what new discoveries and innovations are yet to come out of the laboratory, but this special building will facilitate the next generation of researchers and scientists in having a real impact on the way we live in the future.
