How SB Laboratories’ Mobilaire system enables adaptable laboratories across life sciences, healthcare, university and industrial sectors.
Flexible laboratory environments are becoming increasingly important as investment in life sciences and research infrastructure expands across the UK’s major innovation clusters.
From speculative laboratory developments to specialist research facilities, adaptable laboratory furniture systems enable laboratories to adapt as technologies, research priorities and user requirements change.
Growth of Flexible Laboratory Environments in the UK
Across the UK, investment in laboratory and research facilities continues to accelerate as life sciences companies, universities, healthcare organisations and technology firms expand their research and development capabilities.
Major innovation clusters such as the Golden Triangle linking London, Oxford and Cambridge, together with research hubs such as Manchester’s Oxford Road Corridor, continue to drive demand for flexible laboratory environments capable of supporting rapidly evolving scientific work.
From speculative laboratory developments in London’s Knowledge Quarter to specialist research environments at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, many new buildings are being designed to accommodate new technologies, diverse research activities and a wide range of occupants over time.
Developers are increasingly expected to deliver laboratory environments that balance demanding scientific performance with commercial viability, ensuring facilities remain attractive to a broad spectrum of research organisations while maintaining long-term operational efficiency.
As scientific priorities shift and new technologies emerge, laboratory spaces must be capable of adapting without extensive refurbishment. Flexible and modular laboratory furniture systems therefore play an increasingly important role in enabling laboratories to support different equipment, workflows and operational needs.
SB Laboratories’ Mobilaire workstation system has been developed to support adaptable laboratory environments, providing a modular, plug-and-play workstation solution designed to evolve alongside the organisations using it. The system has already been implemented across a range of research, healthcare and university laboratory environments in the UK.
Designing Flexible Laboratories for Speculative Life Sciences Developments
Many modern life sciences buildings are designed as speculative laboratory environments, where spaces must accommodate a range of potential future tenants.
Building owners and developers often need to provide high-quality laboratory facilities capable of supporting organisations ranging from early-stage biotechnology companies to established pharmaceutical research teams.
In speculative laboratory developments, installing highly specialised infrastructure during the initial fit-out can increase upfront costs while reducing flexibility for future tenants. Developers must therefore balance technical laboratory performance with commercial viability, ensuring spaces remain attractive to a wide range of potential occupants while allowing laboratories to be adapted as tenant requirements evolve.
Adaptable laboratory furniture systems help address this challenge by allowing workstations, services and accessories to be modified or repositioned, allowing laboratories to evolve without major refurbishment works.
Highly adaptable laboratory environments also allow spaces to support a range of scientific disciplines, enabling laboratories to transition between wet laboratory work, dry analytical activities and computational research as project requirements evolve.
The Mobilaire workstation system combines a robust structural frame with integrated laboratory services and adaptable storage solutions, enabling laboratories to be configured and reconfigured as laboratory activities and operational needs evolve.
Quick-release gas fittings, plug-and-play electrical and data connections, and flexible service integration allow workstations to be easily disconnected and reconnected as laboratory layouts change. Combined with heavy-duty castors and height-adjustable feet, Mobilaire workstations can be repositioned within a room or moved between laboratories as required.
This approach helps reduce speculative installation costs on day one while ensuring laboratories can adapt to the specific needs of future users.
Flexible laboratory environments rely on layered infrastructure that allows laboratories to evolve as research requirements change
Mobilaire: A Plug-and-Play Mobile Workstation System
Mobilaire has been developed as a highly adaptable laboratory workstation designed to support a wide range of research activities, supporting both wet and dry laboratory environments.
Rather than requiring a fixed configuration during installation, the system allows laboratory operators to introduce services, shelving and accessories as required. This modular approach enables laboratory environments to evolve alongside changing research programmes and equipment requirements.
Key features include:
- plug-and-play service connections for gas, power and data
- demountable service housings allowing future modification
- compatibility with overhead or ceiling service distribution
- adjustable shelving, storage options, and IT accessories
- height-adjustable feet and heavy-duty castors for mobility
Mobilaire workstations support 400 kg loading as standard, with 600 kg heavy-duty configurations available for more demanding laboratory environments.
Mobilaire flexible laboratory workstations can be adapted as laboratory requirements evolve
Mobilaire in Practice: Victoria House Life Sciences Hub, London
A recent example of flexible laboratory furniture systems in practice can be seen at Victoria House in London, where SB Laboratories supplied laboratory furniture as part of one of the UK’s largest speculative life sciences developments, led by Pioneer Group.
Located within the Knowledge Quarter, this prominent Grade II listed building has been transformed into a state-of-the-art life sciences hub, providing approximately 300,000 sq ft of laboratory and office space for organisations ranging from start-ups to multinational pharmaceutical companies.
Formally launched in September 2025, the project also represents the largest single-phase speculative laboratory installation completed in the UK that year.
Facilities of this scale must support organisations with different operational needs, requiring laboratory environments that can adapt as companies expand, research priorities change and new tenants move into the building.
Adaptable workstation systems such as Mobilaire support this adaptability by allowing laboratory layouts to evolve without compromising durability or performance in commercial research environments.
Victoria House in London’s Knowledge Quarter – a major speculative life sciences development designed to support a wide range of research organisations
Supporting Specialist Laboratories at Cambridge Biomedical Campus
While flexible laboratory furniture systems are particularly valuable in speculative life sciences developments, they are also increasingly important in specialised healthcare and clinical diagnostic environments.
At 1000 Discovery Drive on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, SB Laboratories supplied laboratory furniture for histopathology laboratories supporting diagnostic services for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The building forms part of the wider Cambridge Biomedical Campus, one of the UK’s most significant centres for biomedical research, healthcare and clinical innovation. Large research campuses such as Cambridge Biomedical Campus bring together academic researchers, healthcare providers and commercial life sciences organisations, creating opportunities for collaboration, knowledge exchange and translational innovation.
Within facilities such as the histopathology laboratories at 1000 Discovery Drive, laboratory environments must support high-throughput diagnostic workflows while accommodating specialised equipment and evolving laboratory technologies.
Flexible workstation systems, such as Mobilaire, help ensure these environments can adapt as diagnostic technologies, automation and laboratory processes continue to develop.
Flexible laboratory furniture systems supporting histopathology laboratories at Cambridge Biomedical Campus
Flexible Laboratory Furniture Systems Across Multiple Sectors
Flexible laboratory furniture systems are used across a wide range of life sciences, academic and industrial research environments. These environments must often support a diverse mix of activities, from experimental laboratory work to analytical testing and technology development, requiring flexible infrastructure capable of accommodating specialised equipment and changing workflows.
SB Laboratories is currently delivering projects across several sectors, demonstrating how adaptable workstation systems can support different types of research and teaching environments.
Within the life sciences sector, current projects include Oxford North, Begbroke Science Park – Building 1 and City Labs 4.0, both designed to support growing research and innovation ecosystems.
In the university sector, SB Laboratories is delivering furniture systems for facilities such as the University of Nottingham Competence Test Centre and the Leeds University FBS Neurosciences Laboratory, where adaptable research environments support teaching, scientific investigation and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Beyond research and academic facilities, flexible workstation systems are also used in industrial R&D environments, such as the Filtronic Broadband facility, where laboratories must accommodate specialised equipment and evolving technological requirements.
These projects incorporate Mobilaire workstations as part of their laboratory furniture solutions, demonstrating the versatility of adaptable workstation systems across life sciences, university and industrial laboratory environments.
Flexible laboratory at Oxford North
Designing Laboratories That Can Adapt Over Time
Laboratory facilities are long-term investments for research organisations, universities, healthcare providers and commercial developers. Many laboratory buildings are designed with operational lifespans of several decades, making adaptability an important consideration during the planning stage.
Flexible laboratory environments allow organisations to scale their research operations over time, ensuring facilities can support both immediate project requirements and future growth.
A Future-Ready Laboratory Workstation System
As research environments continue to evolve, laboratory facilities must be designed to adapt. Flexible laboratory furniture systems enable organisations to respond to new opportunities without costly refits or prolonged downtime.
The Mobilaire workstation system has been developed with this principle in mind, providing laboratories with a flexible and adaptable workstation system that can adapt as new tenants move in, research programmes evolve and laboratory requirements change.
By enabling laboratories to adapt as organisations grow and research priorities change, the Mobilaire workstation system supports high-performance research environments while helping reduce lifecycle costs associated with reconfiguring laboratory space:
- maximise laboratory layout flexibility
- future-proof the laboratory environment
- reduce day-one installation costs
- minimise disruption when laboratories change use
- avoid unnecessary speculative services
- reduce future refurbishment works
Flexible laboratory environments are becoming an essential feature of modern research facilities, and adaptable workstation systems such as Mobilaire help laboratories remain efficient, responsive and ready for future scientific and technological developments.
Mobilaire flexible laboratory workstations can be adapted as laboratory requirements evolve
To learn more about the Mobilaire workstation system or to discuss upcoming laboratory projects, visit the Mobilaire page or contact the SB Laboratories team to explore how flexible laboratory furniture systems can support your facility.
