Expediting delivery to fight Covid-19

• The laboratory was built in just nine months, far quicker than the usual 2.5-year timeline, showcasing the ability to rapidly address urgent public health needs. 

• Within a year of opening the facility was able to process eight million samples, significantly contributing to the reopening of the UK economy and society during the pandemic.  
• The lab's strategic location links with key medical research areas and is supported by local universities, resulting in 11 undergraduate and four PhD placements.

When it comes to tackling a national health emergency, speed is imperative. Speed of thought. Speed in decision-making. And speed of delivery. 

In 2020, in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the UK Government launched an ambitious programme to significantly scale up the nation’s testing and diagnostics facilities, supporting the mass population testing programme. 

Having successfully delivered the Nightingale Hospital at ExCeL in London at the height of the pandemic, a multidisciplinary team led by Mace took on the challenge of supporting the Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency in delivering an ultra-high throughput Covid-19 testing laboratory. The Rosalind Franklin Laboratory is the result of that partnership – and a new benchmark within pharma and life sciences. 

The new facility deploys ePCR technology to enable fast and accurate diagnostics and has processed over eight million samples since opening in June 2021, playing a significant role in allowing the reopening of the UK economy and society, supporting the country in moving forward from the pandemic. 

Through collaboration, an expedited design process, and implementing modern methods of construction, the team successfully compressed the schedule from a typical 2.5 years to just nine months, from initial involvement to the first live tests being processed. The approach allowed for progressive handover of individual lab lines while construction continued. In October 2021, the facility processed its one millionth PCR test - less than 12 weeks after validation of the first lab line. 

The project also emphasised sustainability by retrofitting an existing distribution warehouse, significantly reducing construction activities and the carbon footprint. The location was strategically chosen to link with key areas of medical research and local universities, resulting in numerous placements for undergraduates and PhD students. Standardisation of lab spaces and an agile approach to design and construction further contributed to the project's success.