Reflections from Bisnow UK Life Sciences and Healthcare Summit
Earlier this month, our Education and Science sector lead, Scarlett Petchey, was pleased to attend the Bisnow UK Life Sciences and Healthcare Summit, and came away with some valuable insights shaping the future of the sector.
The overarching mood was one of cautious optimism. While supply continues to outpace demand in the short term, the outlook for the next decade and beyond is encouraging. Central to unlocking this potential is a commitment to adaptable, flexible design – buildings that can evolve alongside the rapid pace of technological advancement in research and development.
Growth in the UK remains anchored around the Golden Triangle of Oxford, Cambridge and London, but there are clear signs of diversification. A compelling Life Sciences corridor is emerging across Northern England, spanning Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield. Encouragingly, those speaking on the panels supported a shift away from regional competition, towards a collaborative approach to attracting global Life Sciences investment to the UK as a whole.
The importance of clusters and micro-ecosystems, positioned in close proximity to universities and hospitals, was once again a prominent theme. These environments foster the cross-pollination of ideas that drives genuine innovation. Given the substantial existing estates held by these anchor institutions, and the fact that the sector’s needs are rapidly outgrowing the buildings designed to serve them, regenerative design has never been more relevant. Arup illustrated this beautifully through three compelling case studies: 1 Triton Square, Northeastern University and Max Planck Campus.
Across our own projects at Plan A, as AI continues to accelerate and shape ways of working, we anticipate shifting demand away from traditional wet labs towards dry lab environments, potentially changing the briefs our architects are working to. As ever, we remain committed to working closely with our architect and client teams to stay ahead of these changes and carefully control their integration on projects. This ensures every project reacts to the realities of an ever-evolving sector.
