Life-sciences research/development facilities are a critical component of the built environment, although program requirements often result in limited architectural forms that hinder—rather than contribute to—the urban public realm. How do we change this? Learn how developers and designers can respond to life-sciences industry needs with new mixed-use approaches that strengthen the urban public realm, support varied programming elements, and create more equitable cities.

Exploring wider possibilities of mixed-use life-sciences development, we discuss the real-world example of BioMed Realty’s development of 585 Kendall—a super-hybrid building where science and art converge—in Cambridge, Massachusetts’s innovation hub, Kendall Square. In a city seeking to close the divide between science and arts communities, 585 Kendall was shaped by more than 200 community conversations. A forward-thinking holistic urban environment, this development opens the door to community through building and site design and the carefully constructed arts operation plan, featuring the linchpin arts partnership of developer BioMed Realty and Cambridge-based arts producer Global Arts Live.