Last week saw the official completion of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine’s (LSTM) latest phase of expansion, with the opening of the Wolfson Building.
The £7m project houses the Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health (CMNH), the Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease (CNTD), and Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC).
The building was officially opened by LSTM’s patron, HRH The Princess Royal and is the latest in the organisation’s continued development, cementing its position as one of the leading international institutions in the fight against infectious, debilitating and disabling diseases.
Formed in 1898, thanks to a £350 gift from shipping merchant, Sir Alfred Lewis Jones, LSTM now employs more than 430 people and educates 600 students from 68 countries each year.
Working in close partnership with our client, we have carried out a major conversion and remodelling of an existing residential building to create a new, grade-A workplace fit for a world-leading research institute
The Wolfson building is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007-2013, along with support from the Regional Growth Fund and The Wolfson Foundation. It comprises of office space and meeting rooms for CMNH and CNTD as well as the product development partnership, IVCC, which is currently housed in the Centre for Tropical Infectious Diseases.
LSTM director, Professor Janet Hemingway CBE, said: “The opening of the Wolfson Building is yet another landmark in the history of LSTM, which was the first institution of its kind anywhere in world.
“It will further increase our opportunities to bring the very best in research and scientific innovation out of the lab and directly to the people who need it most, enabling LSTM to continue its work to tackle some of the most-challenging health problems in the world today.”
Matt Brook, director at architectural practice, Broadway Malyan, which designed the building, added: “Working in close partnership with our client, we have carried out a major conversion and remodelling of an existing residential building to create a new, grade-A workplace fit for a world-leading research institute.”
The design encourages interaction in the building and engenders a united team culture. It includes the creation of several large voids throughout the building linking floors, while the new roof provides a continuous North light, which floods daylight down through the building.
It also features an external over-cladding which relates to the work of the institute, with vertical banding created by perforated panels referencing the 'barcodes' created by genome sequencing. The effect is further enhanced by night-time back lighting, which creates a focal point for the institute’s expanding campus and provides glimpses into the building.
