BioData Pharmaceutical

Salt Lake, UT

Scientia performed as the laboratory programmer and planner in partnership with GSBS Architects. The new headquarters doubles the size of their facility in this unique lab situated within an existing mixed-use lifestyle and entertainment district, featuring 1.2 million square feet of retail, dining and office space as well as 1,200 multifamily units.

Recursion is a pioneer in the emerging field of technology-enabled drug discovery. Expanding the laboratory footprint will allow them to grow their proprietary biological dataset even faster and add several novel capabilities in biology and chemistry research.

The 57,200 sf of new laboratory and support space includes biology, compounding, proteomics, chemistry and provisions for a large robotics lab to accommodate up to 96 robots. The project also includes 5 incubator labs for emerging companies.

Planning in a former retail space offered some unique challenges of a post tensioned slab that limited floor penetrations and a series of shear walls blocking linear pathways. Despite these challenges, Scientia was able to develop modular open laboratory planning that will allow Recursion flexibility to adapt over time. The labs also feature glass walls open to the office area which allows investors to view labs on tours without having to gown up and enter the spaces. This feature also give natural light into the labs borrowed from the window space in the open office spaces.