Fitrovia in London has a new and different piece of architecture.  Now able to be seen in its finished state, the unique undulating façade designed by Ian Ritchie Architects announces the arrival of the new Sainsbury Wellcome Centre at University College London (UCL), a partnership between the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Wellcome Trust to establish a new Research Centre in Neural Circuits and Behaviour.

Inside are new state-of-the-art molecular and cellular biology, imaging, electrophysiology and behavioural research facilities to investigate how brain circuits process information to create neural representations and guide behaviour.

It is the external façade that is innovative, if a little bland.  The undulating cast glass facade by Frener and Reifer reached the final of the “International Award for Facade Engineering Excellence 2013” and was shortlisted as one of the top 10 projects worldwide by the jury of this international facade competition.  The façade is designed by Ian Ritchie architect to be a high performance wall – thermal, acoustic, light transmitting and low maintenance.

The street colonnade of the Centre is enlivened with display windows of relavant themes including Illusion, distortion, inversion, deception and perception and has a ceiling which adds interest to the street with images which changes from musical scores on one side to shadowy faces on the other.