Real Estate Reimagined: Biomanufacturing in a Design Center

From showroom to showcasing the latest advances in medicine, the Cedars-Sinai Biomanufacturing Center infuses the existing building with new activity and purpose. Located on the second floor of the iconic blue Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, originally designed by Cesar Pelli in 1974, the CBC brings new laboratories, clean rooms, and offices into vacant space most recently occupied by an art gallery originally intended to display designer furniture.

Maximizing Daylight & Improving HVAC

To maximize the limited natural light peeking through only 10% of the perimeter, the design team incorporated glass walls wherever possible to bring daylight deep into the building and instill a sense of “science on display” for visitors. At a glance, one can see researchers working in labs on one side of the building and meetings taking place in conference rooms on the other.

Another challenge was finding creative ways to meet the rigorous requirements for power, HVAC capacity, process piping, and plumbing within the confines of low floor-to-floor heights. We concealed the new mechanical ducts and piping needed for the laboratory to properly function in the ceiling. Our solution leveraged every square inch and left the CBC with nine-foot ceilings, enough vertical space to evoke a sense of openness throughout the environment.

Putting Science on Display

A sense of "science on display" is incorporated with a custom-designed, triangulated skin inspired by the colours and dynamism of microscopic stem cell images on a back-lit segmented wall. Designed to articulate around components, the wall covers when it needs to hide, opens when it wants to show, elevates when it needs to create a portal and it is punctured when it needs a view. The design intrigues the eye, visually demonstrates connectivity, and serves as a subtle wayfinding element guiding visitors throughout the CBC.

Today the CBC is a healthy, engaging workplace and a destination for the research, development, and biomanufacturing of induced pluripotent stem cells and other cell-based medicines for early clinical trials for regenerative cell applications. The 23,000-square-foot space includes nine clean rooms supported by staging areas, growing rooms, quality control labs, and a storage room. Other spaces are devoted to research and the production of iPSC cells, technology and development, training, and collaboration laboratories, offices, and facilities maintenance equipment.