Design principles for innovative workspaces to increase efficiency in pharmaceutical R&D: lessons learned from the Novartis campus

Abstract

When managing R&D departments for increased efficiency and effectiveness the focus has often been on organizational structure. Space is, however, of outstanding importance in an environment of large task uncertainty, which is the case in pharmaceutical R&D. Based on case studies about the Novartis campus in Basel, Switzerland, we propose some design principles for laboratory and office workspace to support the strong and weak ties of scientist networks. We address the diversity of technologies and specialization, as well as the pressure on time-to-market, as major challenges in pharmaceutical R&D.