wmb studio recently completed the headquarters building for cambridge-based cmr surgical, a leading medical robotics company in the uk. inhabiting a former industrial shed, the scheme is conceived as a ?street? surrounded by a series of timber clad volumes, which house colourful meeting spaces. the ?street? is a multi-functional space, used for circulation, meetings, gatherings, and events, anchored at either end by tiered seating and a climbing wall. large areas of glazing reveal and celebrate the assembly processes, creating a strong connection to the open plan workspaces.

 
 
wmb studio were commissioned to develop plans for a new global headquarters on the edge of cambridge, bringing together staff teams that had been scattered around the city. the project reunifies the company, placing their revolutionary ?versius? surgical robotic system at the heart of the building. 
 
 
formerly occupied by agricultural shed buildings, the site was granted planning permission on the basis that any new industrial units should replicate these particular forms. within the resulting pair of connected portal frame structures, functions are organized by level. the manufacturing team, key social spaces and the visitor suite are located at ground level. open-plan desking, meeting rooms, and labs, used by the development team, are at the upper level. 

 
 
at the heart of the building is a double-height space, the street, that symbolically connects all teams together. final testin...