The Future Cities Forum have published a report following a panel discussion on the ambitions of science and tech campuses. Director Ed Hayden joined the expert panel led by Stephen Dance, Director, Commercial Adviser Team, Infrastructure & Projects Authority.

2020, with the shock of a global pandemic, put health services and life sciences research teams at centre stage. While investment into these sectors from governments, investors and real estate developers had been growing before Covid-19 broke out, the urgent search for vaccines, call for joined-up test and trace data collection, and the front-line exposure of hospital ICUs, has highlighted the vital role health science and technology infrastructure plays across civilisation – and our cities.

Sharing Scott Brownrigg’s experience of designing research and life science buildings in Cambridge and Oxford, Ed Hayden introduced the panel to our insight into how post-Covid design will be positioned in a low Carbon future.

“We will see a lot more timber frame design being introduced, even within lab spaces. We will also see much better airflow and ventilation design to reduce risk of contamination. All of these things have to sit within the overall future low carbon development.”

Ed Hayden, Director

Fellow contributors included universities (as land owners and as developers), institutional investors, teaching hospital trusts, life sciences consultancies, urban planners, architects, master-planners and leading civil engineering contractors.

Future Cities Forum research suggests that the landscape for investing in and developing science and innovation parks has probably never been stronger.

Read the full report below.