Design of £600m King's Cross lab slammed23 June 2010
THE latest vision for a £600million science super lab in the heart of King's Cross has been unveiled - but opponents of the scheme say it looks like "a giant bus shelter".
New artist's impressions of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI), planned to be built on land behind the British Library known as Brill Place, off Midland Road, were unveiled last Friday.
The designs had to be redrawn after Camden Council told backers including University College London (UCL) and The Wellcome Trust, both based in Euston Road, that the original plans were not good enough.
The building has been hailed as the most important scientific development in Britain "for a generation" by Sir Paul Nurse - the Nobel-prize winning biologist who is chairing the UKCMRI's scientific planning committee.
But a spokeswoman for protest group Stop Camden Lab said: "It's like a gigantic mausoleum. The plans look like a cross between a shopping mall and a giant bus shelter. It doesn't fit in with the area, nor does the purpose of it."
A Camden Council planning brief for Brill Place says the land should be used for new housing - half of which should be made affordable.
Councillor Roger Robinson, who represents St Pancras and Somers Town ward, slammed the latest plans, saying: "It's too high and takes away all the light away in a built-up area which we don't want. That land should be used for housing and leisure, not for a science lab."
The UKCMRI will house 1,250 of the world's leading scientists carrying out pioneering research in diseases such as cancer.
Fred Pilbrow, from PLP Architecture, which focused on the external design of the building, said: "The architectural strengths in many of the buildings surrounding the site have provided extraordinary inspiration. We have tried to create a design which respects and enhances that legacy - but which opens the science of the institute to the world."
Professor Malcolm Grant, president of UCL, added: "We anticipate that UKCMRI will be a vital catalyst for jobs and regeneration in Camden."
Last month the new coalition Government vowed to support the project, which was awarded £250million in funding from the previous Labour administration.
A planning application is due to be submitted to Camden Council later this summer, with building work starting early next year if it is approved.
New artist's impressions of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI), planned to be built on land behind the British Library known as Brill Place, off Midland Road, were unveiled last Friday.
The designs had to be redrawn after Camden Council told backers including University College London (UCL) and The Wellcome Trust, both based in Euston Road, that the original plans were not good enough.
The building has been hailed as the most important scientific development in Britain "for a generation" by Sir Paul Nurse - the Nobel-prize winning biologist who is chairing the UKCMRI's scientific planning committee.
But a spokeswoman for protest group Stop Camden Lab said: "It's like a gigantic mausoleum. The plans look like a cross between a shopping mall and a giant bus shelter. It doesn't fit in with the area, nor does the purpose of it."
A Camden Council planning brief for Brill Place says the land should be used for new housing - half of which should be made affordable.
Councillor Roger Robinson, who represents St Pancras and Somers Town ward, slammed the latest plans, saying: "It's too high and takes away all the light away in a built-up area which we don't want. That land should be used for housing and leisure, not for a science lab."
The UKCMRI will house 1,250 of the world's leading scientists carrying out pioneering research in diseases such as cancer.
Fred Pilbrow, from PLP Architecture, which focused on the external design of the building, said: "The architectural strengths in many of the buildings surrounding the site have provided extraordinary inspiration. We have tried to create a design which respects and enhances that legacy - but which opens the science of the institute to the world."
Professor Malcolm Grant, president of UCL, added: "We anticipate that UKCMRI will be a vital catalyst for jobs and regeneration in Camden."
Last month the new coalition Government vowed to support the project, which was awarded £250million in funding from the previous Labour administration.
A planning application is due to be submitted to Camden Council later this summer, with building work starting early next year if it is approved.
