Laboratories
fjcstudio designs laboratories for teaching and research, from undergraduate chemistry teaching laboratories to shared specialist instrumentation facilities and large research buildings. Our laboratory work spans universities and vocational education in Australia and the UK, including the University of Sydney, UNSW, the University of Oxford and TAFE NSW.
Laboratories are among the most technically demanding buildings we design. We plan them as flexible, adaptable modules that can be combined or reconfigured as research needs change, and we integrate the services and equipment they need so that the building supports the people who work in it.
Our laboratory buildings also bring researchers together. At the Charles Perkins Centre, more than 16,000 sqm of wet and dry laboratories are arranged around a central atrium that acts as the social heart of the building.
Hive Superlab, UTS Central
A PC2-standard teaching superlab beneath UTS Central for up to 270 students, with audio-visual systems that let seven classes run at once.
Tinbergen Chemistry Teaching Laboratory
Contemporary chemistry teaching laboratories integrated into Sir Leslie Martin's 1970 Tinbergen Building at the University of Oxford, with highly serviced uses placed within the extension.
TAFE NSW Padstow
Wet laboratories and classrooms for animal studies, delivered with a prefabricated, demountable kit of parts inside a heritage building and ready for term time.
Charles Perkins Centre
More than 16,000 sqm of wet and dry laboratories for biomedical, computational and clinical research, arranged around a central atrium that encourages exchange between disciplines.
Our Approach
Flexible Laboratory Modules
We plan laboratories as modules that can be separate, connected or combined, so universities can adjust spaces over time, as at the Tyree Energy Technologies Building and the Chemical Sciences Building at UNSW. Standard modules simplify services and fit-out, and allow research groups to grow or change without major rebuilding.
Teaching and Research
We design for both learning and discovery, from teaching laboratories at Oxford and TAFE NSW to research floors for the School of Chemistry at UNSW. Teaching laboratories are planned for clear supervision and safe, efficient workflows, while research floors offer the flexibility, services capacity and focus that discovery needs.
Shared Specialist Facilities
Shared instrumentation floors consolidate high-value equipment such as electron microscopy and NMR, as at the Chemical Sciences Building, making it a resource for the whole campus. Sharing equipment reduces duplication and cost, brings researchers from different groups together and concentrates specialist environments in one place.
Interaction and Transparency
Atria, circulation and social hubs give researchers places to meet across disciplines, with views between floors that do not disturb laboratory activity, as at the Charles Perkins Centre. Informal encounters between disciplines can spark new collaboration, so we design these shared spaces as carefully as the laboratories themselves.
Existing and Heritage Buildings
Laboratories can be inserted into existing buildings. At TAFE NSW Padstow, a demountable system created thermally conditioned rooms within a former industrial shed without touching its envelope or structure, and at Oxford, new teaching laboratories restore the clarity of Sir Leslie Martin’s Tinbergen Building, giving existing buildings a new purpose.
Sustainability
Laboratories are energy intensive, so sustainability is designed in from the start. The Tyree Energy Technologies Building achieved 6 Star Green Star under Green Star Education v1. Efficient ventilation and services planning reduce energy demand while maintaining safe laboratory conditions.
Health Research
Our research buildings extend into health, including the Wolfson Building at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, the UK’s first dedicated centre for stroke and dementia research. Health research buildings bring clinicians and scientists together, so laboratories, offices and shared spaces are planned to support collaboration between research and patient care.
Integrated Interiors
Architecture and interiors are designed together, so laboratory planning, furniture, finishes and shared spaces work as one, as in the interiors of the Charles Perkins Centre. Durable, easily cleaned materials meet technical requirements, while warm finishes, daylight and well-designed breakout areas make laboratories comfortable places to spend long working days.
Experience Matrix
| Project | Location | Teaching Laboratories | Research Laboratories | Wet / Dry Laboratories | Specialist Instrumentation | Existing / Heritage Building | Green Star Rating | Design Excellence / Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney | Sydney, NSW | • | • | • | • | |||
| Chemical Sciences Building, UNSW | Sydney, NSW | • | • | • | ||||
| Tyree Energy Technologies Building, UNSW | Sydney, NSW | • | • | • | ||||
| TAFE NSW Padstow | Padstow, NSW | • | • | • | ||||
| Tinbergen Chemistry Teaching Laboratory, University of Oxford | Oxford, UK | • | • | |||||
| The Wolfson Building, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford | Oxford, UK | • | • |
Relevant Awards
Our laboratory and research buildings have been recognised by architecture awards in Australia and the UK. Relevant awards include:
| Project | Name | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Perkins Centre | Educational Architecture Award, 2015 | Australian Institute of Architects (NSW Chapter) |
| Charles Perkins Centre | Interior Architecture, commendation, 2015 | Australian Institute of Architects (NSW Chapter) |
| Charles Perkins Centre | Higher Education and Research, shortlist, 2015 | World Architecture Festival |
| The Wolfson Building, John Radcliffe Hospital | RIBA South Award, 2021 | RIBA |
For further information about our laboratory capability, please enquire by email. You can also explore our health and research projects.
Related capabilities: tertiary education and health and research.