Faced with a chronic shortage of available space in Cambridge’s Kendall Square—the nation’s busiest scientific research hub—lab developers SmartLabs looked three miles east to Boston’s Seaport Innovation District to open their fourth location. 6 Tide Street is the latest phase in SmartLabs’ mission to aid scientific discovery by freeing start-ups from the typical burdens of operating a lab space.
As longtime design partners to SmartLabs, SMMA was entrusted with the entire fit-out design of 6 Tide Street. The result is an enterprise-grade, 54,000 square foot lab/office destination home to several ambitious science start-ups and a long-established biopharmaceutical firm.
Tenants at 6 Tide Street take advantage of SmartLabs’ trademark mix of private, highly customizable lab spaces centered around shared workplace amenities. Control and privacy is offset by the community feel found in a shared workplace: the design draws scientists out from their labs to mingle in the large café area with likeminded people.
Consisting of smaller Innovation Suites and larger Scaling Suites, 6 Tide Street’s lab spaces are equipped for a myriad of pharma and biotech research specialisms. New tenants benefit from quick reconfiguration and turnaround—these “plug and play” labs allow new equipment to be swapped in with minimal cost.
The lab designs at 6 Tide Street reflect a constantly evolving picture. With life science and biotech innovation occurring at breakneck speed and scale, SmartLabs is well positioned to capitalize on the increasing flow of talent, ideas, and innovation toward Boston’s Seaport in the country’s hottest science market.
