3pm was appointed by Imperial College London’s ThinkSpace team to support the delivery of the next phase of laboratory development within the I-Hub building at the White City Campus. The project was driven by increasing demand for incubator and accelerator laboratory space following the successful delivery and occupation of laboratory facilities on Levels 2 and 3.

The scheme comprises the fit-out of approximately 12,000 sqft of accommodation on Level 8, providing flexible R&D accelerator laboratory space designed to Containment Level 2 standards, with future capability for upgrade to Containment Level 3. The facilities incorporate dedicated building services infrastructure alongside supporting office, administration and collaboration spaces to accommodate emerging science and technology businesses.

The incoming occupier’s requirement to commence research and development activities within a demanding timescale required the adoption of a fast-track delivery strategy. To achieve the programme objectives, 3pm developed an accelerated approach to briefing, design development and procurement, enabling works to progress efficiently while maintaining stakeholder engagement and project governance.

During the project initiation phase, 3pm worked closely with the ThinkSpace team and Imperial College London stakeholders to develop the Project Initiation Document (PID), successfully coordinating consultant and internal business teams through a remote working environment.

A key project challenge related to previously identified performance issues within the building’s chilled water and heating systems. 3pm rapidly mobilised a specialist commissioning team to investigate system performance, validate historic reports and establish a detailed remedial works strategy. This enabled critical infrastructure issues to be addressed before the implementation of laboratory-specific modifications, reducing risk and supporting the successful delivery of a high-quality research environment.