Francis Crick Institute

Named after Francis Crick, the scientist who helped

discover the structure of DNA, the institute is an ambitious

collaboration of six founding research partners: the Medical

Research Council, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust,

UCL (University College London), Imperial College London

and King’s College London.

The world-class biomedical research facility aims to

discover how and why disease develops in order to find

new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat conditions such

as cancer, heart disease and stroke, as well as infections

and neurodegenerative conditions. Located in central

London, the steel, glass and terracotta clad building

occupies a full city block and creates strong architectural

links to historic local buildings. Large cantilevered bay

windows and tall glass atria reduce the building’s impact at

street level and maintain natural light in workspaces and

public areas. The challenge for Allgood on this project was

to create an ironmongery specification in keeping with the

facility’s elite standards.

The Contego range is an antimicrobial copper product,

made from a copper alloy, giving it the appearance of

stainless steel while incorporating the bacteria fighting

qualities of copper.

Killing 99.9% of bacteria within minutes of exposure, the

range offered a unique functional capability to the research

centre, while still matching the interior aesthetic. Contego

lever and pull handles were supplied to glass doors

including: office and lab doors, while push plates were

supplied to the auditorium and back of house areas.

Additionally, Allgood Secure supplied automatic door

operators to the main entrances of the labs, with fob

readers fitted for Contego lever handles in higher security

areas.