Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University

The Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (or SLCU)[2] is located in Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Its aim is to elucidate the regulatory systems underlying plant growth and plant development.

The Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge
Exterior of the Sainsbury Laboratory from the Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Academic affiliation
University of Cambridge
EndowmentGatsby Charitable Foundation
DirectorOttoline Leyser[1]
Location
Cambridge
,
United Kingdom
ArchitectStanton Williams
Websitewww.slcu.cam.ac.uk

Senior research staff

As of 2020 Senior research staff include:

  • Professor Ottoline Leyser FRS, Director[3]
  • Dr Sebastian Ahnert, Gatsby Career Development Fellow at the Sainsbury Laboratory and a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the Cavendish Laboratory
  • Professor Yrjö Helariutta, research group leader
  • Dr Alexander Jones, Research Group Leader
  • Professor Henrik Jönsson, Associate Director and Research Group Leader
  • Dr James Locke, Research Group Leader
  • Elliot Meyerowitz, Inaugural Director and Distinguished Associate
  • Dr Edwige Moyroud, Research Group Leader
  • Dr François Nédélec, Research Group Leader
  • Professor Giles Oldroyd, Research Group Leader
  • Dr Sarah Robinson, Gatsby Career Development Fellow
  • Dr Sebastian Schornack, Research Group Leader and Royal Society University Research Fellow

History

The Sainsbury Laboratory houses 120 plant scientists studying plant development and diversity in state-of-the-art laboratory facilities. The building was made possible by the award of an £82M grant from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Construction of the 11,000-square metre building, led by Kier Group, began in the private working and research area of the Botanic Garden in February 2008 and was completed in December 2010. The building was opened on 27 April 2011 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The laboratory building also provides plant growth facilities and a home for the University Herbarium, which contains over one million pressed and dried plant specimens from around the world, including the great majority of those collected by Charles Darwin on the Beagle Voyage, and scientific research material relating to newly discovered plants from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Building

The Laboratory meets Cambridge City Council’s planning requirement for 10% renewable on-site energy generation through use of photovoltaic panels,[4] and has been awarded a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating. The Gilmour Suite, in a wing of the Sainsbury Laboratory, provides a public café and terrace for Botanic Garden visitors and is open all year during Garden public opening hours. The building was awarded the Stirling Prize for architecture in 2012.

Architect:Stanton Williams
Furniture consultant:Luke Hughes[5]
Construction Start date:February 2008
Completion Date:December 2010
Date of Occupation:January 2011
Number of Occupants:150
Gross Internal Area:11,000 m2 (120,000 sq ft)
  • Stairs
  • Auditorium
  • Cubicles

Artwork

The laboratory has several artworks including:

Artist NameWork
Norman AckroydGalapagos
Susanna HeronHenslow’s Walk
William PyeStarburst

References
  1. "LEYSER, Prof. (Henrietta Miriam) Ottoline". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2015 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (subscription or UK public library membership required) (subscription required)
  2. "Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University". Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  3. Sedwick, Caitlin (2014). "Ottoline Leyser: The beauty of plant genetics". The Journal of Cell Biology. 204 (3): 284–285. doi:10.1083/jcb.2043pi. ISSN 0021-9525. PMC 3912528. PMID 24493584.
  4. "The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge". ARUP.
  5. "Sainsbury Laboratory". www.stantonwilliams.com.

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