University of Saint Andrews Laboratories

All electric pop-up laboratory facility built to help staff and students affected by a devastating fire in the Fife town in 2019 with Atelier Ten providing the MEP design for The University of St Andrews.

The temporary facility, built by Portakabin, offers state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities and was commissioned by the University to allow valuable research to re-start after the fire at the University’s internationally-renowned Biomedical Sciences building (BMS) in February 2019.

The Willie Russell Laboratories at the University of St Andrews were officially opened late 2019 by the Principal, Professor Sally Mapstone. The new facility has been named after molecular virologist Professor Willie Russell, who was instrumental in establishing the University’s virology unit which will continue within the new complex.

Now, the new research and teaching facilities at the Willie Russell Laboratories are fully operational and proving popular with students.

Built in the late 90s as an exemplary model for interdisciplinary research, work continues to restore the four-storey BMS building after last year’s blaze.

BMS housed labs conducting medically-focused research in organic and synthetic chemistry, virology, microbiology and biochemistry and maintains a strong reputation as a centre of scientific excellence addressing important scientific issues including infectious disease.