An innovative, responsive façade creates Botanic Place's striking visual identity 22.07.26

Located adjacent to the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, Botanic Place, designed by AHMM for Railpen, is set to be one of the UK's most sustainable new developments.

The design proposes a campus comprising two new office buildings, the retained landmark Botanic House and the refurbished Flying Pig public house. All are set within public spaces and extensive landscaped gardens, including extensively planted roof terraces.

An innovative, responsive façade – designed and tested by our architects and AHMM’s Building Performance Team, in collaboration with engineers Hoare Lea – is central to the project's environmental performance and visual identity. Sophisticated in its construction, the façade incorporates projecting horizontal solar shading, vertical aluminium fins, unitised glazing, and polished precast panels featuring buff and red facing bricks in an orientation-based approach to fenestration and shading.

Working in close collaboration with façade consultant AKT Envelopes, contractor Skanska, and precast subcontractor Techrete, we have been documenting the intricate production of these façade elements. At their Dublin facility, Techrete is manufacturing 966 panels, totalling approximately 10,400 square metres of façade, which will be installed on site over the coming months.

The manufacturing process is a blend of skilled craftsmanship and advanced technology. Each panel begins with a bespoke reinforcement cage. Brick slips are hand-laid onto the concrete backing, and the reconstituted stone surface is hand-polished. Brickwork is carefully pointed to ensure a consistent finish, before the panels are transported to Cambridge where they are installed, acting as permanent formwork for the concrete slab edges.

Botanic Place sits within the world-leading life sciences 'Golden Triangle' cluster. The two building 325,000 sqft campus is scheduled for completion in 2028