The knowledge economy sector is more critical than ever, demonstrated by the Covid-19 crisis. Penoyre & Prasad is pleased to support New London Architecture’s new report ‘NLA Knowledge Networks: London and the Ox-Cam Arc’ – a report that looks at London’s relationship to Oxford and Cambridge, the world’s leading knowledge-intensive region.

Four of our projects are featured in the report:

  • Project Oriel – a new home for the Moorfields Eye Hospital, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Charity
  • UCL PEARL – UCL’s first net-zero carbon in-use building, a unique, urban prototype laboratory for the creation of full-size environments to test how people use infrastructure and cities
  • The Kantor Centre of Excellence – the first centre of excellence for children and young people’s mental health in England, it represents an exciting new era for the Anna Freud Centre and the Pears Family School and brings together the best in clinical practice, research with international reach and policy under one roof
  • Himley Village EcoTown, part of Bicester Garden City, its design is integral to the original vision of an EcoTown – a place that promotes physical and mental health with environmental responsibility.

The UK’s life sciences sector, which contributes £74bn to the UK economy annually and supports 250,000 jobs, has played a central role in the UK’s economic response to Covid-19. Its ability to preserve and create employment, export innovation globally and lead on the development of a vaccine has meant it has come under the spotlight more than ever – all for the right reasons.

British universities are now more open to partnerships with the commercial world than in previous decades, aware as they are of the need to commercialise their research discoveries. The Golden Triangle is home to the UK’s leading research institutions at Imperial College London, University College London, King’s College, University of Oxford and Cambridge University.

In addition, the UK government is increasing its current level of research and development expenditure from 1.7 percent of GDP to 2.4 percent over the next five years, equivalent to £22bn. Private sector investment will be crucial in leveraging this.

Ian Goodfellow, principal at Penoyre & Prasad, said: “To compete on a global canvas and mimic some of the superclusters we see across the US and China, investors need greater planning certainty and we need to amplify our use of data to help inform decision-making.

“At the heart of innovation districts are anchor tenants – such as academics or major tech firms – but their success depends on great transport links and a focus on sustainable development. Silicon Valley for example, where the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority runs bus and light rail services that reach every corner of the tech hub with standard one-way fares costing as little as $2. The Arc must strive to replicate such successes.”

Download the full report here.

The report will be supported by a free #NLAKnowledgeNetworks webinar at 10am on 16th June 2020 to hear how we can future-proof the needs for the knowledge economy sector within the ‘Golden Triangle’.

Register here.