Derby superlab wins four design nominations for architects
Lab architects Morrison Design have received multiple nominations for their University of Derby Bioscience Superlab project, in two major industry award ceremonies.
These include citations in the Best New Campus Development and Best Retrofit & Reuse Building categories for the CN Life Sciences, Tech and Research Clusters Awards 2026 in London on 23 June.
Prior to that, the design competes for the Constructing Excellence East Midlands Awards’ Retrofit Project of the Year and Building Project of the Year categories in Leicester one week earlier (18 June).
The University of Derby Bioscience Superlab was funded by a £5.8m award provided in 2023 from the Office for Students’ £432m capital funding budget and opened in September 2025.
Built to accompany the institution’s £1.75m Omics Research in Metabolism Lab which opened in 2022, the Superlab was intended to create premises centred on core elements of biomedical science including haematology, immunology, histopathology, molecular biology, genetics and cell/tissue culture.
Morrison’s design used a former office space, “demonstrating how existing buildings can be successfully reimagined to support modern STEM education,” said the firm.
It includes three teaching zones within a single open laboratory space, enabling multiple classes to operate simultaneously. Integrated audiovisual technology also enables flexible teaching.
“The project also maximises the use of the existing building fabric, significantly reducing embodied carbon while delivering a highly adaptable environment designed to evolve over time,” said Morrison.
The company, itself based in Derby, was founded in 1948 and handles projects across the UK and Europe.
The Derby project team included collaborators Seddon (Principal Contractor), CPW & JPR Group (M&E), Simply Labs (Furniture), Rodgers Leask (Structural Engineer), AtkinsRéalis (Project Management) and Hewshott (Audio & Acoustics).
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