Francis Crick Institute
Allgood Ltd
Named after Francis Crick, the scientist who helpeddiscover the structure of DNA, the institute is an ambitiouscollaboration of six founding research partners: the MedicalResearch Council, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust,UCL (University College London), Imperial College Londonand King’s College London.The world-class biomedical research facility aims todiscover how and why disease develops in order to findnew ways to prevent, diagnose and treat conditions suchas cancer, heart disease and stroke, as well as infectionsand neurodegenerative conditions. Located in centralLondon, the steel, glass and terracotta clad buildingoccupies a full city block and creates strong architecturallinks to historic local buildings. Large cantilevered baywindows and tall glass atria reduce the building’s impact atstreet level and maintain natural light in workspaces andpublic areas. The challenge for Allgood on this project wasto create an ironmongery specification in keeping with thefacility’s elite standards.The Contego range is an antimicrobial copper product,made from a copper alloy, giving it the appearance ofstainless steel while incorporating the bacteria fightingqualities of copper.Killing 99.9% of bacteria within minutes of exposure, therange offered a unique functional capability to the researchcentre, while still matching the interior aesthetic. Contegolever and pull handles were supplied to glass doorsincluding: office and lab doors, while push plates weresupplied to the auditorium and back of house areas.Additionally, Allgood Secure supplied automatic dooroperators to the main entrances of the labs, with fobreaders fitted for Contego lever handles in higher securityareas.