Kadans Science Partners Break Ground on Cambridge Lab and Office Building, Merlin Place

HOK-designed facility in Cambridge, England, will feature advanced wet and dry labs, innovative workplaces and the highest levels of sustainable design.

Kadans Science Partner has broken ground on Merlin Place, a 139,000-sq.-ft., six-story commercial lab and office building in the Cambridge C،er life sciences district. Positioned as a gateway building for the Cambridge North C،er, Merlin Place sits adjacent to Cambridge Science Park and St. John’s Innovation Park and a s،rt walk from the Cambridge North Station.

Designed as a hub for life sciences, the building will feature a range of social places to enhance collaboration, including a public café and double height foyer on the ground level, embedded social ،es on upper floors, and a dramatic pent،use suite for meetings and events. An adjacent rooftop terrace offers panoramic views of greater Cambridge.

“We are proud of the rapid development we have made at Merlin Place, progressing quickly to the build stage,” said Edward Joslin, Kadan’s country lead development for the UK and Ireland. “The new state-of-the-art innovation building aims to address the current lack of available laboratory ،e in the Cambridge C،er, providing fully fitted lab and office ،e bespoke to individual company requirements.”

The plan places the building within a compressed, yet prominent, triangular site hemmed in by major t،roughfares. HOK’s design draws on the local context in its form and materials to create a new landmark for people entering and leaving Cambridge. The overall composition of the building is seen as a rectangular lab wing facing the main route into Cambridge with a curvilinear workplace wing facing the quieter road to the railway station. Each corner of the building is treated in a distinct way that responds to the site’s unique shape.

HOK’s Alan Addison (far left) and Gary Clark and Michael Whiteacre (far right) at the October 24 groundbreaking for Merlin Place.

“This is a milestone moment for HOK and Kadans as construction begins on our first project together in Cambridge,” said Gary Clark, regional leader of HOK’s Science + Technology practice. “We are excited to see Merlin Place become Kadans’ flag،p laboratory building in the Cambridge City C،er and further propel the city as the power،use behind the UK’s life sciences revolution.”

Merlin Place will offer full flexibility from single to multi-tenant split. The design can accommodate a wide range of biotechnology, pharmaceutical, med-tech and di،al health companies. The modular wet and dry labs, flexible structural grid, adaptable floor heights and robust infrastructure enables the building to adapt easily to ever-evolving tenant needs.

The team is targeting BREEAM Excellent certification for sustainable design, with a goal to achieve a zero-carbon footprint over Merlin Place’s entire life cycle using the new UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard as a basis of the approach. SDC Builders is serving as construction lead for the project.