150 Holborn
Perkins and Will · London, United Kingdom · 2023
Projects / Built project
UCL PEARL
A 60,816 sq ft research laboratory where full-scale streets and transport settings can be tested under controlled conditions.
- Client
- University College London
- Size
- 60,816 sq ft
- Laboratory volume
- 44,000 cu m
- Environmental standard
- BREEAM Outstanding
The story
The story behind the work.
UCL's Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory, PEARL, is a highly adaptable facility for studying how people interact with streets, stations and other full-scale urban environments. Its 4,000 sq m laboratory floor, 44,000 cu m volume and 40 m clear structural spans allow researchers to build and change life-sized test settings.
Workshops, maker space, sound facilities and a cross-laminated timber structure called the Groove support public, academic and production uses alongside the main laboratory. Completed in 2021, the building is UCL's first net-zero-carbon-in-use building and achieved BREEAM Outstanding. The project is credited to Perkins&Will at practice level only.
Credits
- Architecture and laboratory design
- Perkins and Will
The practice