3XN has unveiled the new joint home of Universal Robots (UR) and Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) in Odense, Denmark. The 215,000-sf project will enhance collaboration and employee well-being while offering highly specialized environments for robot research and development.
The new facility will group most of UR and MiR’s activities, which are currently spread across five different addresses in Odense, in one location, creating the world’s largest hub for cobots (collaborative robots that work and interact with humans).
Dubbed Cobot Hub, the facility comprises flexible modules tailored to the robotics companies’ specialized needs. "We have worked closely with the users of the building since the beginning of the process, and we have conducted many interviews to outline what the new building needs to deliver," said Audun Opdal, Architect and Senior Partner, 3XN, in a release. "A lot of different elements had to come together. The new building will house two independent companies that need everything from traditional office space to workshops, laboratories, and creative robot ‘playrooms,’ where the robots of the future are developed.”
The building’s modular approach provides a flexible framework that allows the building to be scaled up or down according to future needs. This means significant parts of the building’s structure and materials can be reshaped and reused.
Cobot Hub will include a green roof, open office landscapes, common areas, and amenity spaces where employees can meet informally across the two organizations and exchange knowledge and innovations. Atriums open the building up and create visibility and transparency, encouraging social interaction. A shared courtyard forms the heart of Cobot Hub and will become the center of social life on the campus.
The project is slated for completion in 2023.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Dec 3, 2020
2020 Laboratory Facilities Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. laboratory facilities sector
Affiliated Engineers, HDR, and Skanska top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest laboratory facilities sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2020 Giants 400 Report.
Laboratories | Nov 16, 2020
Washington State University’s new Plant Sciences Building opens
LMN Architects designed the project.
AEC Tech Innovation | Sep 18, 2020
New Innovation Center should heighten Port San Antonio’s tech profile
The facility will include a 2,500-seat arena and serve as new home for the city’s S&T museum.
Laboratories | Aug 25, 2020
Video: What's driving the boom in life sciences real estate?
JLL's Audrey Symes discusses the drivers of growth across the nation's life sciences cluster hubs.
Laboratories | Jul 24, 2020
Customized labs give universities a recruiting edge
CO Architects is among a handful of firms that caters to this trend.
Laboratories | Jun 24, 2020
CDC set to build the most advanced high containment laboratory in the country
Flad Architects, Page Southerland Page, and WSP will plan, program, and design the HCCL.
University Buildings | Jun 3, 2020
Renovation can turn older university buildings into high-performing labs
David Miller of BSALifeStructures offers technical advice on renovation of college and university laboratories and scientific research facilities.
Giants 400 | Aug 13, 2019
2019 Science + Technology Giants Report: Operational flexibility is a must for S+T buildings
The science and technology (S+T) sector is arguably the industry’s most complex because it caters to a diverse clientele with specific priorities and imperatives, according to Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Laboratories | May 21, 2019
Georgia Tech Research Institute adds 350,000 sf of specialized tech facilities
McCarthy Building Companies with Flad Architects acted as the design-build team.
Laboratories | Apr 23, 2019
Translational health science environments: 6 strategies for open innovation and knowledge transfer
Simply putting researchers and clinicians in the same building with hopes that serendipitous collaborations will ensue will often not yield the outcomes organizations seek.