Schlumberger Cambridge
Research
High Cross
Madingley Road
Cambridge CB3 0EL
United Kingdom
Michael Hopkins and Partners
1985
Schlumberger Cambridge Research is
one of two main research centers operated by Schlumberger Oilfield Services.
Including new buildings added in 1992 it provides nearly 1,000 square meters
of laboratories and offices for 100 scientists.
The building comprises two
parallel rows of single-story labs and offices - the 'research wings' -
separated by a long and 27-meter-wide covered space, providing both
large-scale test areas and a a winter garden.
The research wings are
conventionally glazed, while the central space is covered by a Teflon-coated
glass-fiber membrane, suspended from the steel superstructure. The
translucency of the membrane provides natural light for the central areas.
The Schlumberger building was a
pioneer of this high-tech tensile roof construction, completed nearly fifteen
years before the Richard Rogers Partnership's Millennium Dome.
Simon Glynn 2002
How to visit
Schlumberger Cambridge Research is
a commercial research laboratory and is not open to the public. However the
exterior is clearly visible from the Madingley Road (A1303 leading west from
Cambridge to junction 13 of the M11 motorway).
The Schlumberger site, signposted
as High Cross, is on the south side of Madingley Road, immediately east of
the M11 motorway exit at junction 13.
