An Environment Built for Discovery
Science moves quickly and research spaces have to do their part to keep up.
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University of Kentucky
Healthy Kentucky Research Building
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Location
Lexington, Kentucky
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Year
2019
Research spaces need to support the people behind the work and create room for focus, collaboration, flexibility, and the shared pursuit of discovery.
The most important discoveries rarely happen within a single discipline.
They emerge when people bring different perspectives together to solve complex challenges. As healthcare continues to evolve, research environments must create opportunities for collaboration, accelerate the exchange of ideas, and give researchers the flexibility to pursue discoveries that improve lives.
As Kentucky’s flagship university, UK launched a statewide initiative to address some of the Commonwealth’s most pressing health challenges, including diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and substance use disorders. Recognizing that these complex conditions require expertise from many fields, the University reimagined its original vision for the building. Rather than creating a facility centered solely on laboratory research, the design evolved into an interdisciplinary environment where researchers, clinicians, engineers, and scientists can work together to discover new pathways for prevention, treatment, and healing.
More than a research facility, it is a place where discovery has purpose.
Designed in collaboration with HGA, Champlin Studios, and Jacobs Consultancy, the facility balances adaptable laboratory environments with computational research, collaborative workspaces, and shared support areas that encourage interaction across disciplines. Every aspect of the building was planned to remove barriers between people and ideas, creating opportunities for discoveries that would not happen within traditional research silos.
Beyond supporting research, the building strengthens the University’s growing health sciences campus by creating places for mentoring, teaching, and collaboration. More than a research facility, it is a place where discovery has purpose. Every collaboration has the potential to advance new treatments, improve health outcomes, and create a healthier future for the people of Kentucky and beyond.
By bringing together education, research, and innovation, the building creates new opportunities to advance treatments, improve health outcomes, and shape the future of healthcare for Kentucky and beyond.
