BenchSci

Founded in 2015, Canada-based BenchSci, aims to help scientists make breakthroughs discoveries and help patients received new treatments more efficiently. Most recently, the company has built the world’s first evidence-backed map of disease biology.

The brief

We were approached by London-based consulting firm, Dakota, acting on behalf of BenchSci and their interior design practice, Trifle*, to deliver their first ever UK premises in Cambridge. COEL’s team worked closely with the design team to bring the client’s vision to life while remaining withing budget, and retaining the look and feel of the design.  

Key challenges

The main challenge was that the client was based overseas, and the team had never worked together previously. The COEL team had to work quickly to understand the brief and interpret the vision for the final design.

• Firstly, working with the interior design team, we respecified various items, bringing the project in line with the client budget, whilst retaining the beautiful look and feel already defined.
• Secondly, we were able to mobilise on site in a matter of weeks, before the design had been fully signed off, thanks to the dedication of our onsite team.

Our solution

Prioritising adaptability & wellbeing
The space included a single room on the ground floor – ‘The Social Garden’ – which acts as a breakout lounge, separate to a larger suite on the second floor. The second floor comprised of a plethora of dedicated spaces, including: open plan desking, formal boardroom, phone pods, smaller meeting spaces, accessible tea points, breakout spaces and even a zen room.

Taking sustainability seriously

The whole project was designed with longevity in mind, with hardwearing, natural materials wherever possible and flexible furniture solutions.  The chosen flooring is long-lasting recyclable/reusable and all tilling materials were extracted and worked using sustainable methods – no solvents, resins or chemical additives.

Find out more about the sustainable materials used here.

In summary…

The design and build were completed within seven months, with the process from concept to stage 4 technical designs being adapted and delivered particularly efficiently, to mobilise on site within a matter of weeks.