Cambridge will be home to a new research laboratory for the study of plant development, thanks to the largest single gift received by the University since the launch of the 800th Anniversary Campaign.

£82 million has been provided by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation for an iconic building designed by award-winning architects Stanton Williams.

Construction work, led by Kier Group, has now begun on the site, which is situated in the private working area of the Botanic Garden. A groundbreaking ceremony was held today attended by Lord Sainsbury, founder of the Gatsby Foundation, and the University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alison Richard.

Due for completion in late 2010, The Sainsbury Laboratory will house 120 scientists, supported by more than 30 additional staff. They will be studying plant development in state-of-the-art laboratory facilities designed in consultation with Bob McGhee, a leading American laboratory designer responsible for the design of more than 50 laboratories for the Howard Hughes Foundation in America.

The building will also provide a home for the University Herbarium, which contains over one million pressed and dried plant specimens from all over the world, including those collected by Charles Darwin on the Beagle voyage. This collection is a key resource in our understanding of plant evolution and biodiversity.

Experienced as a series of landscaped spaces – entry court, central courtyard and formal lawn – every aspect of the building will take into account the fact that the surrounding Botanic Garden provides the setting and the inspiration for research.

External walls reflect this permeability, using glazing shaded by rhythmic arrangements of columns that enhance views into and out of the building. The main working spaces will be on the first floor. They will have generous natural light and views across the Garden.

Formal and informal meeting places, cafe facilities and informal study areas are positioned on the internal route around the central court. This route, which connects laboratories and social places, also extends out into the network of pathways within the Botanic Garden itself.

Professor Alison Richard said: “Cambridge has a strong record in the study of plant biology – a science which is now accepted as critical for our planet. This makes the Gatsby Foundation’s gift to the University both natural and transformational – we are truly grateful.”

Lord Sainsbury said: “This is one of the most exciting projects with which my Charitable Foundation has been involved. It combines an inspirational research programme, an historic site in the Botanic Garden and a beautiful laboratory designed by Stanton Williams, and I believe it will soon become a world-class centre of excellent plant science.”

The Botanic Garden was originally conceived by Professor Henslow, Darwin’s guide and mentor, to present his early 19th century research programme on the nature of species.

Professor John Parker, Director of the Botanic Garden, comments: "The Garden looks forward in the 21st century to maintaining its position with the study of plant diversity in the most modern way. The laboratory will be dedicated to the advancement of curiosity-driven research. However it is hard to imagine that increasing our knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms of plant development is not going to have a very significant impact on the improvement of agriculture in years to come.”

Photograph shows (l - r) Professor John Parker, Director, Botanic Garden; Professor Alison Richard. Vice-Chancellor; Mr Roy Murphy, Regional Director, Kier Group; Mr Michael Bienias, Director, University Estate Management; Lord Sainsbury

The University’s Department of Plant Sciences is the premier University centre for research in plant and microbial sciences. It offers unrivalled research and training opportunities in the following areas: Plant Development, Cell Biology, Photosynthesis and Metabolism, and Epidemiology, Ecology and Evolution.

The pre-eminence of the Department, under the leadership of Professor John Gray, was further strengthened recently by the recruitment of Professor David Baulcombe from the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich to be University Professor of Botany. His research is being funded by a £2 million grant from the Gatsby Foundation, which has given a further £2 million to support additional research fellowships in the department. Professor Baulcombe was recently awarded The Lasker Prize for his work, America’s highest research honour.

 

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