Schlumberger Cambridge Research Centre, Phase 1

The brief required maximum contact between scientists of different departments, and the provision of facilities for visits and meetings with university personnel and staff.

Under the fabric roof are the drilling-rig test station and the main social space known as the 'winter garden'. The fabric covering is Teflon coated glass fibre. It is uninsulated and transmits about 13 per cent daylight. A cat's cradle of cables transmits the weight of the fabric to the ground via four structures like suspension bridges.

Beside these main spaces are two independently structured wings. Monitoring and planning rooms look into the workshop, and small private offices line the outside face, where they enjoy views over the landscape. Knitting the spaces together is a network of circulation and informal meeting spaces, encouraging contact between colleagues within the scientific community.