LAB & OFFICE SPACES - FAQs

Our hubs feature flexible lab spaces (which are set up to support Containment Level 2 works, both wet and dry), modern offices, collaborative areas, meeting rooms, event spaces, coworking areas, and a Café. Each site is designed for multidisciplinary innovation across life sciences, engineering, cleantech, deep tech and creative technology.

Sciopolis combines ready‑to‑move‑in labs and offices with an active innovation community. Unlike standard serviced space, our hubs integrate property, operations and ecosystem management: one monthly cost covers rental of the space itself, Wi-Fi, utilities, common equipment use, coffee and tea, compliance, maintenance, etc. while onsite teams connect tenants with mentors, investors and partners. Each hub belongs to a planned national network that will link Sciopolis communities across the UK, giving occupiers access to research, talent and collaborative opportunities that go far beyond a single building.

Sciopolis is built for early‑stage and scaling science and technology ventures across multiple disciplines. We believe innovation happens at the intersection of sciences, so our hubs promote collaboration and cross‑pollination between sectors. Typical tenants include life‑sciences, biotech. healthtech, medtech start‑ups, engineering and cleantech innovators, deep‑tech and AI developers and creative‑tech teams working with hardware or digital platforms. If your business depends on research, prototyping or technical collaboration, Sciopolis provides the facilities and community to help it grow.

Labs across the Sciopolis network are built to containment level 2 standards and suited to most benchtop science. Key features include six air changes per hour, three-phase electrical supply, multiple power and data points, dedicated gas and air lines, vented extract for standard fume cupboards, lab sink, and vinyl flooring with coved edges ensuring easy cleaning and maintenance; ground-floor and some of the first-floor labs are built on concrete floors which will provide low vibration performance which can be key for certain experiments. More information on our labs can be found here

Fixed benching around sinks and a series of mobile benches are provided as standard allowing tenants to develop their own layouts. Additional furnishing can be added by tenants, as required. Tenants are generally responsible to provide their own science equipment, however some shared equipment is provided in Common Equipment rooms (see next question).

Equipment rooms typically include autoclaves, glass washers, flake-ice machines and demineralised water systems. These can be booked through the Sciopolis app.

Yes. Offices are fully furnished with fast connectivity and meeting-room access. Options range from private suites to coworking desks.

Our hubs typically provide meeting rooms, cafés, breakout zones, social spaces and event areas. Tenants have access to tea points on each floor. Bike racks and showers are standard; limited car parking is typically bookable for visitors. Check out our locations (https://www.sciopolis.co.uk/locations)for site-specific information.

Contact our leasing team.(https://www.sciopolis.co.uk/contact) We’ll arrange a tour, discuss your requirements and recommend the hub best suited to your work.

Sciopolis locations charge an “all-in” rental fee for each office / lab. That includes service charges, meeting room access, utilities, maintenance, cleaning, business rates, security, shared facilities, site management, as well as programmatic community events. A single monthly payment keeps costs predictable.

Sciopolis typically offers serviced lease agreements for ready-to-occupy lab and office spaces that bundle all costs into one monthly charge for maximum flexibility. For larger units in certain buildings, Sciopolis may offer FRI leases (Full Repairing and Insuring) which would typically suit larger occupiers seeking longer leases and more control over their space.

Yes. Our flexible approach makes it easy to expand or move between locations within the Sciopolis network as your business grows.

Sciopolis will hold central contracts for the management of most waste streams and will directly manage and handle standard non-hazardous waste via the cleaning team. Tenants will directly handle clinical, chemical and other specialist streams themselves utilising the central contract (at tenant cost), which will be managed by our local Lab-Manager.

Each hub has an experienced Lab Manager who will be responsible to manage shared equipment, waste contracts, gas contracts and safety compliance, amongst other activities.

Our hubs will be positioned within major UK innovation clusters with excellent connectivity to transport links. For example, our London site at One Portal Way (http://www.sciopolis.co.uk/oneportalway)is two minutes from North Acton station and 10 minutes to the Elizabeth Line, with further HS2 connectivity coming in the near future, making it one of London’s best connected Innovation Hubs. Check out our locations page (https://www.sciopolis.co.uk/locations)to see where we have sites.

Every Sciopolis hub is built around an ecosystem that combines space with people and partnerships. Support includes: • Academic and clinical connections – links to universities, equipment sharing and research collaboration. • Curated service network – partners provide expert help in IP, HR, finance, legal, marketing and compliance, introduced directly by our team. • Access to talent – introductions to recruiters and research networks. • Active community management – onsite teams foster engagement and track impact.