The Usher Institute: Mind & Body

29 Jan 2025

The University of Edinburgh is delivering a series of six institutes across the city to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, the latest of which focuses on innovation, wellbeing & community. Urban Realm sits down with Will Hartzog, senior associate at Hassell, to explore the relationship between architecture and society.

What differentiates a building that prioritises wellness over economics?

Workplaces today have evolved from being locations where people are required to be, to environments that people want to be in. Hassell was fortunate to have a client and design team that understood the value of wellness – both physical and mental – and sought to encourage the design of the new Usher building to be a nurturing and active environment. We believe that ‘wellness’ and ‘economics’ do not inherently conflict. In fact, a focus on ‘wellness’ can be economically beneficial, both in terms of upfront costs and long-term efficiency. Strategies that utilise daylight and natural ventilation design principles lessen energy costs, end of trip facilities encourage active movement to and within the building, and enhanced visibility of staircases reduce the use of lifts for many users. The building is arranged as a series of smaller workplace and research areas that break down the internal space into ‘neighbourhoods’. These are then organised around a series of informal meeting spaces, breakout zones and wintergardens that encourage movement and connection throughout the building.

What did you learn working with medical professionals during the design process?

Medical professionals in our experience tend to be very committed, detail-orientated, and importantly engaged with their working environment – this is invaluable when helping to shape a complex project like this one. We had a mix of backgrounds and professional perspectives to absorb within the core user group, and this input strengthened the overall understanding of the programme. The core users and the design team shared a belief in the power of spaces to help shape the health and well-being of individuals and communities. This starting point allowed the Usher project process to find opportunities to aim beyond the typical and the generic, to design and provide special spaces that people want to be for work, research, and collaboration.

Are we still creating unhealthy buildings/environments? If so, how do we stop?

The situation is a constantly improving picture as awareness and understanding grows. Clients and their architects have to collectively demand and advocate for better, healthier environments with each new development. This means integrating first principles such as natural light, ventilation and regenerative design values into the process from the outset. At Hassell, we launch each project with a regenerative design workshop to set key project-specific targets and identify additional value to be gained from the design process. We also conduct regular design reviews with the wider team to ensure that client-focused objectives for well-being and sustainability are effectively guided and achieved in the proposals. How do you break down barriers between disciplines? Are they solely physical? The Usher design is centred around the co-location of various departments and disciplines, intentionally bringing together academic researchers and commercial partners to encourage the exchange of people and ideas. This blending of different disciplines creates a dynamic environment, where varied approaches and ideas converge to fuel creativity and potentially drive breakthroughs. These breakthroughs sometimes emerge from informal exchanges and chance encounters. This process begins with designing collective amenity spaces, where work areas are organized around the integration of shared facilities, meeting and social spaces. Physical and visual connections, along with ease of movement through these shared zones, are crucial in generating a lively and interconnected system of people and place. As individuals navigate Usher and encounter one another, there is a natural impetus to engage and connect. This energy that the space itself can provide in turn motivates and energises its users. The dynamic internal environment created is designed to emanate into the wider BioQuarter too, both with public ground floor functions and a welcoming public realm design that stitches itself into the broader fabric.

What makes the Usher Institute a building of Edinburgh, not just in Edinburgh?

Edinburgh is an incredibly rich, inviting urban environment with an established track record for confident civic architecture. The Usher Building seeks to contribute to the new BioQuarter with a suitably thoughtful civic form that speaks to this legacy. The porous and sheltered design of the ground floor encourages interaction between the building and its community while importantly rooting the building physically in its context. In counterpoint, the design provides elevated framed views and vistas from within back to its neighbours, including the historic landmark of Craigmillar Castle. These visual anchors ground the building firmly within its Edinburgh setting, creating a dialogue between the contemporary architecture and the city’s rich heritage. The materiality and form of the façade play a vital role in communicating a tangible expression of stability, and permanence. The articulated pattern, with its deep reveals formed using precast panels, achieves a fusion of civic identity with exceptional fabric performance.

How important is good architecture in creating healthy and active societies?

Good architecture goes beyond aesthetics to shape how people interact with their environment and each other. There are certain design ingredients that are fundamental to the way that physical health and wellbeing can be supported, and we have attempted to seamlessly integrate these into the architecture of the Usher Building. Perhaps to summarise, it all comes down to connections – physical, emotional, natural. The more a building can embody and generate connection, the more it catalyses community and wellbeing, understanding and knowledge. These connections play a vital role in enhancing both our individual and collective experiences. Environments that naturally promote interaction and activity inspire a sense of responsibility and strengthen social ties.