Agilent R&D facility

Research facilities are traditionally seen as unending, drab laboratories filled with technical equipment and peopled by white-coated workers. When Agilent Technologies took two floors for its’ R&D centre within an office campus inhabited mostly by software firms, it broke from the prototype. There were large glass curtain walls on the floor periphery and the initial impression was that floor plate would not lend itself easily to a research facility. There was a substantial requirement for laboratories, in addition to non-technical spaces like workstations, meeting rooms etc. The challenge was to integrate both, and design a creative working environment for scientific research without it being sterile and uninteresting.

We started off by using bright yellows and blues with white, and that lightened the ambience immediately. The laboratory spaces were at the heart of this facility, so we placed them centrally, with glass windows all around so the internal operations could be observed from outside. Casual break out areas and the cafeteria were designed like lounges where the scientists could relax and renew their creative juices. We achieved a seamless flow between technical and non-technical spaces by building upon the initial advantage of light and openness that the glass curtain walls gave us.